Largest IPO in Pakistan Could Raise Rs 3.3 Billion
PABC had become a supplier to almost all the manufacturers of PepsiCo Inc and Coca-Cola products in Pakistan in a short span of time
As per a report in Bloomberg, Ashmore Investment Management Ltd are planning to sell part of their stake in drink packaging manufacturer Pakistan Aluminium Beverage Cans Ltd (PABC) in an initial public offering (IPO) in June.
According to Azam Sakrani, Chief Executive Officer PBAC, “The UK-based asset manager’s funds were looking to sell a 26 percent stake in the firm through a first-time share sale in Karachi that could raise at least Rs 3.3 billion rupees ($22 million)”.
The funds are selling the rest of their 51 percent holdings in the can-maker through a private placement to local investors that includes a current shareholder, maintained Syed Saquib Ali, director of investment banking at Arif Habib Ltd who is the sole adviser to the IPO.
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“The IPO would be the largest in Pakistan since steelmaker Agha Steel Industries Ltd’s Rs 3.8 billion offerings in September”, the report said.
Sakrani maintained that PABC had become a supplier to almost all the manufacturers of PepsiCo Inc and Coca-Cola products in Pakistan in a short span of time.
“There is a huge growing demand for cans in Pakistan and the region”, he added.
The CEO further maintained that the phasing out of plastic bottles is also slowly and gradually expanding across the globe and will benefit cans.
“The beverage company, which started operations in 2017, was the only manufacturer of aluminum beverage cans in Pakistan”, he said.
As per details, the PABC’s plant can manufacture 1,800 cans a minute.
“The company is considering expanding its capacity to as many as one billion cans a year from its current potential output of about 600 million, given rising local demand and export prospects”, the CEO announced.
“Despite being shut for two months because of the pandemic, the company’s revenue grew by 6 percent to Rs 5.1 billion last year, 35 percent of which came from exports”, Saquib Ali said.
