KUALA LUMPUR (May 2): Food ingredients supplier Agricore CS Holdings Bhd said on Thursday it has signed an agreement with M&A Securities to underwrite its initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market.
The IPO entails 51.7 million new shares and M&A will underwrite 20.3 million new shares made available to the Malaysian public and eligible persons, the company said in a statement. The rest will be placed out to Bumiputera investors and to select investors. There is no sale of existing shares.
All in all, the IPO offers investors up to 25.5% of Agricore's enlarged share capital upon listing. The company said it is expected to be listed on the ACE Market by June 2024.
Agricore group is mainly involved in the distribution and production of plant-based agricultural food ingredients comprising starch products, beans and pulses, grain products and other related products under its house brands such as “Pokok Agricore” as well as third party brands.
The company also produces and sells food additives and fried shallots under its house brand “Bapas” and “Cap Pokok”.
Proceeds from the IPO have been earmarked for the setting up of a regional storage facility, purchase of inventories, and recruitment of staff, according to its draft prospectus posted on Oct 10, 2023. The company will use the rest to defray estimated listing expenses.
The company recorded a net profit of RM7.12 million for the financial year ended 2022 on a revenue of RM122.69 million.
“As our products are widely used in many applications, our business is resilient to economic downturns as food ingredients are necessary to food manufacturing and food preparation which is a necessity in consumers’ daily lives,” said managing director Oon Boon Khong.
Agricore secured its approval for listing from Bursa Malaysia last month.
M&A Securities is the adviser, sponsor, underwriter and placement agent for the IPO.