This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 20, 2026 - April 26, 2026

AFTER years of stop-start ­attempts to go public, Loob Bhd — the food and beverage (F&B) store chain operator behind Tealive and Bask Bear Coffee & Toasties — has officially shelved its initial public offering (IPO).

“Yes, essentially, we’ve decided to shelve listing plans following a comprehensive review on our strategic priorities and long-term value creation objectives in ramping up key areas such as FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) and upstream development over the next 18 months,” says Loob Holding Sdn Bhd CEO Bryan Loo Woi Lip, confirming the decision to halt the IPO in response to a query from The Edge.

Pulling back now will give the group “some breather” to allow its key initiatives to take shape and develop to their full potential before going to market, Bryan says.

As to whether Loob will revisit the listing plan after the 18 months are up, he is non-committal, saying: “Let’s keep it open for now … Maybe [we’ll do so] earlier, maybe later, depending on how mature our new verticals are.” In FMCG, verticals refer to the specialised product categories or market segments that companies operate in.

The company has already instructed its advisers to halt the IPO process, The Edge has learnt. Because the group has pulled its filing, any future attempt to list will require a fresh application and a complete restart of the regulatory process.

Loob initially filed the prospectus exposure on June 5, 2025, to float its shares on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia. Maybank Investment Bank Bhd was the appointed principal adviser and sole managing underwriter for the proposed listing. It was also named as joint bookrunner and underwriter with AmInvestment Bank Sdn Bhd.

The IPO was to 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, which represent 25% of the company’s enlarged share base.

While private equity (PE) firm ­Creador holds a significant stake in Loob, the founding Loo family remains the majority owner with a collective 59.1% equity.

Bryan holds 21.8%, followed by his father, Loo Chuu Lin (20.2%), and his sister, Loo Chee Leng (17.1%). Of the remaining shares, Uttama Ltd (a Creador vehicle) holds 30%, while Singli Aerovest Sdn Bhd has 5.4%. Singli Aerovest is owned by Datuk Mah Yew Lay (70%) and Mah Kok Weng (30%).

Loob is Creador’s 39th investment since the PE firm’s inception in 2011. The Edge in June 2021 reported that Creador — led by Brahmal Vasudevan — took up the 30% stake for RM200 million to RM260 million. Given that PE funds typically have specific exit timelines, an IPO has been widely anticipated since Creador came on board.

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

Bloomberg reported in May 2019 that Loob was considering an IPO to raise as much as RM300 million in 2020. It cited sources as saying that Loob was considering seeking a valuation of as much as RM1 billion. Its primary operating arm, Loob Holding, which has a workforce of 4,500, runs more than 900 Tealive outlets and 120 Bask Bear stores in Malaysia and in other countries, focusing on high-traffic urban centres as well as underserved suburban markets.

Bryan, who founded Loob in 2010, later reportedly confirmed that the group was indeed targeting to list in the first half of 2020. But he did not confirm the valuation sought, or the IPO portion at the time, pending recommendations from advisers.

Then, Covid-19 struck. Rather than pursuing the IPO, Loob roped in Creador as a strategic investor instead. In October 2022, Bryan told Reuters Loob would be revisiting its IPO plan by 2024, if the timing and pricing were attractive. The company eventually filed its prospectus exposure in June 2025.

In January this year, The Edge reported that Loob had put its IPO plan on the back burner, quoting sources who cited weaker-than-expected financial performance and intensifying competition in the beverage segment, including the entry of Chinese brands into the Malaysian market.

At the time, however, ­Bryan maintained that the IPO remained on track and stressed that the group’s strategic direction was unchanged. He declined to comment on market speculation.

Loob’s revenue for the financial year ended June 30, 2025 (FY2025) eased to RM489.99 million, down from RM591.24 million in FY2024, marking the first annual decline in five years after steady post-pandemic top line growth. Earnings fell by more than 58% to RM21.46 million in FY2025 — down from RM51.62 million in the previous year — representing about a third of the RM64.54 million it made in FY2022.

Profit margins have weakened significantly from the 18% seen in FY2021, to 8.7% in FY2024 and further to 4.4% in FY2025, likely due to rising costs and tough market competition, including the aggressive entry of Chinese beverage brands into the local market.

Despite the drop in earnings, dividend payments remained high. Dividends for FY2025 totalled RM60.56 million, more than 2.8 times its annual net profit of RM21.46 million.

Loob Holding officially launched Tealive in February 2017, a month after it was abruptly terminated as the master franchisee of Chatime for Malaysia following a high-­profile fallout with the franchisor, Taiwan-listed La Kaffa International Co Ltd. Loob Holding then converted about 160 Chatime stores into Tealive.

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