KUALA LUMPUR (April 22): West River Bhd, slated for listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia on May 5, saw 0.26 times oversubscription for the public portion of its new shares in its initial public offering.

The engineering firm’s IPO offered 107.31 million shares in total, comprising 71.54 million new shares and an offer for sale of 35.77 million shares. Its public portion entails 17.89 million new shares.

The company, which is listing at 39 sen per share, said it received a total of 1,288 applications worth RM8.76 million from Malaysians eyeing the public portion.

For the Bumiputera portion, 548 applications were received for 5.05 million shares.

The balance has been clawed back and reallocated based on the relevant clawback and reallocation provisions as set out in West River's prospectus, according to Tricor Investor & Issuing House Services Sdn Bhd in a statement on behalf of the company.

As for the other public category, 740 applications were received for 17.41 million shares, representing an oversubscription rate of 0.95 times. Shares set aside for eligible persons were fully subscribed. Private placements of both new and existing shares were also taken up, the statement read.

Notices of allotment will be posted to all successful applicants on April 29.

The company is raising RM27.90 million under the public issue.

Of that, RM10 million has been earmarked for the purchase of land and the construction of a new manufacturing factory and warehouse.

West River is setting aside RM5.6 million for the repayment of borrowings, RM7.8 million for general working capital purposes and the rest to cover listing-related expenses.

Meanwhile, the offer for sale through private placement to select investors will gross as much as RM13.95 million, which will accrue entirely to the selling shareholder, Neutron Capital Sdn Bhd, which is fully controlled by West River's managing director Lim Yong Hai.

Upon listing, West River is expected to have a market capitalisation of RM139.5 million, based on the enlarged share capital of 357.7 million shares.

West River specialises in mechanical-and-electrical engineering, air-conditioning and ventilation systems, and building solutions catering to various sectors, including commercial, industrial and infrastructure industries.

M&A Securities is the principal adviser, sponsor, underwriter and placement agent for the IPO.