This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 5, 2026 - January 11, 2026

FRESH from listing Foodie Media Bhd (KL:FOODIE), the Loo family is said to have put its plan to float Loob Bhd, which operates bubble tea chain Tealive, on the back burner again, according to sources.

The Edge understands that Loob’s listing may be delayed because the company’s most recent full-year financial performance fell short of expectations, amid stiff competition in the beverage business as the Chinese brands flock to the Malaysian market.

However, when contacted, Loob Holding Sdn Bhd CEO Bryan Loo Woi Lip insists that the initial public offering (IPO) is on track and that the company’s strategic direction is unchanged.

“Our reply would always be consistent. We have no comments on the rumours or any speculation as the company is focused on delivering long-term values to our shareholders. [The IPO is] always in our plan. [It’s] just a timing issue,” he tells The Edge.

On June 5 last year, Loob filed a prospectus exposure with the Securities Commission Malaysia to go for a listing on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia.

Its unit, Loob Holding, with a workforce of 4,500, is the food and beverage store chain operator of Tealive and Bask Bear Coffee & Toasties. Loob Holding runs more than 950 Tealive outlets and 140 Bask Bear stores across Malaysia and other countries, focusing on high-traffic urban centres as well as underserved suburban markets.

Maybank Investment Bank Bhd is the principal adviser and sole managing underwriter for the IPO. It is also the joint bookrunner and underwriter with AmInvestment Bank Sdn Bhd.

The IPO will comprise a public issue of 58.46 million new shares, representing 5% of the company’s enlarged share base, and an offer for sale of 292.3 million existing shares that represent 25% of the company’s enlarged share base.

Based on Loob Holding’s current share base, Creador’s Uttama Ltd is the single largest shareholder of the company with a 30% stake, followed by Loo with 21.8%, his father Loo Chuu Lin (20.2%), his sister Loo Chee Leng (17.1%), and Singli Aerovest Sdn Bhd (5.4%).

The Edge had in June 2021 reported that Creador had taken up the 30% stake in Loob for RM200 million to RM260 million.

Loob is Creador’s 39th investment since its inception in 2011.

With Creador on board, an IPO is expected as private equity funds usually have an investment timeline to exit.

Loob had been planning to go public for years — since 2018 — but it was delayed by weak market sentiment and, subsequently, the Covid-19 pandemic.

Loob Holding has posted steady top-line growth over the past five financial years ended June 30, with revenue rising from RM319.5 million in FY2020 to RM591.2 million in FY2024, an increase of about 85% over the period. Net profit increased from RM53.5 million in FY2020 to RM66.02 million in FY2022, before falling to RM38.7 million in FY2023 and recovering to RM50.8 million in FY2024.

Interestingly, Loob Holding has been generous in rewarding its shareholders in recent years, paying out sizable dividends relative to its earnings. According to data from the Companies Commission of Malaysia and Loob’s prospectus exposure, Loob Holding’s dividend payouts peaked at RM107.7 million in FY2022, compared with RM28.4 million in FY2020 and RM34.9 million in FY2021.

In fact, the dividend paid in FY2022 exceeded Loob Holding’s annual net profit of RM66.02 million. Over FY2020 to FY2024, the company paid out a cumulative RM229.2 million in dividends to its shareholders, representing a total payout ratio of about 85% against cumulative earnings of RM270.74 million.

Net margin ranged from 15% to 18% from FY2020 to FY2022, before easing to 7.6% in FY2023 and improving slightly to 8.6% in FY2024.

It is noteworthy that Loo, his sister Chee Leng and father Chuu Lin are also pre-IPO investors of Foodie Media — the digital media company behind the Foodie social media brands — that floated its shares on Bursa’s ACE Market a month ago.

Taking into account the IPO price of 30 sen per share, it is estimated that the Loo family raised RM25.5 million last month after offloading 85 million shares or an 11.33% stake in Foodie Media through an offer for sale. 

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