KUALA LUMPUR (March 12): Capital A Bhd (KL:CAPITALA) is reigniting its plans to list its brand management arm, Abc International, in the US, with its valuation reportedly doubling from the initial US$1.15 billion (RM5.09 billion), according to chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.
Fernandes confirmed that the listing, previously shelved to prioritise Capital A’s efforts to exit the Practice Note 17 (PN17) status and airline business recovery, is now back on track, with a target timeline of 2025.
“We are back on track. We definitely need to list Abc in America, because that’s the only market that will understand us,” he said during an exclusive webinar on Wednesday hosted by Rakuten Trade. “I just received the latest valuation of our brand — it was valued at about US$1 billion, it's almost doubled now from Brand Finance.”
The proposal to list the brand management arm, previously known as Capital A International, was first initiated in February 2024.
The plan was to inject the company into Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Aetherium Acquisition Corp. In return, Capital A will get an equity stake worth US$1 billion in the US-listed entity.
At the time, Capital A said it had entered into a letter of intent with Aetherium for the reverse listing of its brand management outfit on Nasdaq in the US.
However, later in October 2024, Capital A said it had terminated the agreement with Aetherium, after the SPAC had failed to comply with certain Nasdaq listing rules, including meeting minimum market value of US$50 million and having at least 400 shareholders.
Fernandes said in a separate interview with The Edge that the brand management spin-off was no longer a priority, as the proposal to dispose of its aviation unit to sister company AirAsia X Bhd (KL:AAX) was found to be sufficient to address the equity position.
With the sale of the aviation business, Capital A will be left with its non-aviation businesses consisting of maintenance, repair and overhaul unit Asia Digital Engineering (ADE), air cargo firm Teleport, online travel agency AirAsia Move, airline catering and fast food operator Santan, e-wallet and remittance outfit Big Pay, and Abc International.
The US listing will put Abc International alongside global brand management giants such as Authentic Brands Group and Inspire Brands, Fernandes added on Wednesday.
“Abc will probably be one of the most creative brand management companies. We’re going to build a fantastic AI-driven brand management company, and America has a few of them, so there are comparables,” he said.
“Really, the idea is I don’t believe in conglomerates, and neither does the board. One by one, we will list each of these vehicles,” Fernandes added, referring to the non-aviation businesses.
Shares of Capital A, which recently obtained the approval from Bursa Malaysia for its regularisation plan to exit the PN17 status, closed one sen or 1.28% higher at 79 sen on Wednesday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM3.42 billion.