Branding and marketing firm SBS Nexus Bhd ended its ACE Market debut on Tuesday (Jan 20) below its IPO price, closing at 24 sen — one sen under the issue price of 25 sen.
The stock opened unchanged before sliding to an intraday low of 23 sen and briefly touching a high of 26 sen. It finished the session down 4%, making SBS Nexus the second most actively traded counter on the exchange, with 76.2 million shares changing hands. The company now carries a market capitalisation of RM117.6 million.
The soft debut came despite strong demand for its initial public offering. Applications from the Malaysian public exceeded the available shares by more than 22 times, with the Bumiputera tranche oversubscribed 23 times and the non-Bumiputera portion 21 times.
All shares allocated to eligible persons were fully subscribed, while the private placement to selected and Bumiputera investors, as well as the offer for sale of existing shares to selected investors, were also fully taken up.
Through the listing, SBS Nexus raised RM30.6 million in IPO proceeds, which will be mainly used for business expansion and working capital needs.
Meanwhile, RM12.25 million from the offer for sale accrued to chief operating officer Warren Cheng, head of digital Lai Kian Chuan and chief business officer Lim Cheng Yong.
SBS Nexus provides branding and marketing services, including content creation and digital billboard advertising. M&A Securities Sdn Bhd acted as the sole adviser, sponsor, underwriter and placement agent for the IPO.
