KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Digital media publishing company Foodie Media Bhd, which operates the KL Foodie social media brands, is planning to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia to support workforce expansion and the purchase of a live streaming building.

Proceeds from the public issue will also be used to purchase equipment for business expansion, upgrade existing equipment and subscribe to software solutions with integrated artificial intelligence capabilities, according to the company's prospectus exposure.

The IPO, comprising institutional and retail offerings, involves a total of 250 million shares, representing 28.15% of the company’s enlarged issued share capital.

The retail offering consists of 59.4 million shares, of which 44.4 million shares have been set aside for the Malaysian public, 2.05 million shares for eligible directors, 5.2 million for eligible employees and 7.76 million for individuals who have contributed to the company.

The institutional offering comprises 190.6 million shares, to be allocated via private placement at a price to be determined through a book-building exercise. This includes 112 million offer-for-sale shares to be offered by the selling shareholders.

Following the IPO, the selling shareholders, which include non-independent executive director and chief executive officer Nicholas Lim Pinn Yang, will see his stake reduce from 27.35% to 21.81%, while his sibling, non-independent executive director and chief content officer Edward Lim Pinn Jian, will see his shareholding decrease from 17.91% to 14.28%.

Meanwhile, Ang Rui Mei — Pinn Yang’s spouse and the company’s non-independent executive director and chief operating officer — will see her stake reduced from 18.90% to 15.07%.

Non-independent non-executive director Bryan Loo Woi Lip’s shareholding will decline from 11.84% to 8.42%, while his father, Loo Chuu Lin, will see his stake reduced from 12.07% to 4.90%. Bryan Loo’s sister, Loo Chee Leng, will also see a stake reduction from 9.27% to 6.25%. LV Holdings Sdn Bhd — the investment vehicle of Bryan Loo and Chuu Lin, formerly also known as Loob Ventures Sdn Bhd — will see its entire 1.32% stake divested following the IPO.

Woi Lip, Chuu Lin and Chee Leng are also the selling shareholders of Loob Bhd, the company behind the Tealive beverage brand, which is also preparing for a listing on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia.

Foodie Media is primarily involved in the digital media publishing sector, where it creates, produces and distributes content across established social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, RedNote, Lemon8, X, Douyin, Telegram, WhatsApp and blogs.

It currently manages 34 lifestyle-focused brands across Southeast Asia, covering a wide range of topics including food and beverage, property, home and living, travel, leisure, technology, sports and automotive.

The company operates several brands that publish digital content, including Pinn Yang, KL Foodie, Bangkok Foodie, Penang Foodie, Foodie, Halal Foodie, Singapore Foodie, Johor Foodie and Malaysia Homie.

For its financial year ended Aug 31, 2024, the company made a net profit of RM7.45 million on revenue of RM23.95 million. Gross profit margin was 59.4% while profit before tax margin was 44.1%, said the draft prospectus.

Maybank Investment Bank is the principal adviser, sponsor, sole placement agent and sole underwriter for the IPO.

Note: The article has been amended for accuracy.