KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 21): Precision engineering services provider Ambest Group Bhd (KL:AMBEST) said on Wednesday that its newly acquired factory in Bayan Lepas, Penang, will serve as the group’s main expansion platform over the next two to three years.
Managing director Tan Beng Beng said the factory, dubbed as Facility 42A, which the group acquired last year, is still only minimally utilised as the group gradually moves in machinery and operations.
“We plan to expand it by constructing an additional storey to enlarge our production capacity ... and we see this facility becoming our key growth driver over the next two to three years,” he said in a press conference after the group's prospectus launch.
Ambest plans to expand Facility 42A by adding an additional storey, increasing its built-up area from 2,010 sq m to 2,910 sq m. The expansion will allow the group to house more machinery, improve production flow and construct a new cleanroom to complement its existing Class 10,000 and Class 100,000 cleanroom facilities.
Ambest is aiming to raise as much as RM37.74 million from the IPO, where RM27.5 million will be raised from the public issue to fund Ambest’s growth plans while the RM10.24 million raised from the offer for sale will accrue to selling shareholders and co-founders Tan Beng Beng and Lim Eng Guan.
Of these, a significant portion of the IPO proceeds — RM12 million or 43.6% — will be used to repay bank borrowings taken to part-finance the acquisition of Facility 42A. As at the latest practicable date (LPD), Ambest’s total borrowings stood at RM35.89 million.
Meanwhile, RM3.9 million or 14.2% of the IPO proceeds will be allocated for the purchase of two advanced machines — a five-axis CNC machine and a CNC horizontal machine — both of which will be installed at Facility 42A.
These machines are expected to collectively increase Ambest’s annual operating capacity by about 4% only, according to the prospectus.
The group noted that no dividends were declared or paid during the financial periods under review and up to the LPD, and it does not intend to declare dividends prior to the completion of its listing.
Applications for Ambest’s IPO will close on Jan 27, 2026, with the company scheduled to list on the ACE Market on Feb 6, 2026.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd is the principal adviser, sponsor, underwriter and placement agent for the IPO while WYNCORP Advisory Sdn Bhd serves as the corporate finance adviser.