KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 13): Foodie Media Bhd, known mostly for its KL Foodie social media accounts, has launched its RM75 million listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia.
The initial public offering (IPO) is priced at 30 sen per share, according to its prospectus released on Thursday. The IPO will raise RM41.4 million for the company and another RM33.6 million for its existing shareholders, including its founder and internet personality Nicholas Lim Pinn Yang.
Applications for the IPO will close on Nov 19, and listing has been scheduled for Nov 28.
Foodie Media is mainly involved in digital media publishing, 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.
Lim, 32, mostly known as Pinn Yang on the internet, will pocket nearly RM3.5 million from the sale of his existing shares in the company.
His wife Ang Rui Mei, who is also Foodie Media’s chief operating officer, will net nearly RM2.4 million from the sale of her shares. Lim’s younger brother and the company’s chief content officer Pinn Jian will gain RM2.3 million.
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Foodie Media 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.
At the prospectus launch, Lim said the aim is to diversify beyond food content by scaling lifestyle platforms such as Malaysia Homie for property, Car Buddie for automotive, and Techie for technology to capture advertising opportunities across multiple industries.
Foodie Media now commands 46 million social media followers and plans to leverage its audience base to strengthen commerce and creator platforms that will allow small and medium enterprises and major brands to run integrated campaigns and live-streaming sales.
More than half of the IPO proceeds have been earmarked for the recruitment of nearly 200 staff. The company also plans to use RM9.2 million to buy a new building to set up new live streaming rooms, purchase equipment and subscribe to social media management software.
The rest will be used as working capital and to defray listing expenses.
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%.
“We are the market price setter, having established strong brand recognition and coverage across major Malaysian cities,” Lim said in shrugging off concerns of upstart rivals undercutting the company. “Sometimes free services that fail to deliver can be more costly for brands.”
Maybank Investment Bank is the principal adviser, sponsor, sole placement agent and sole underwriter for the IPO.