FWD Group announced on 4 July that its Hong Kong and international share offerings have both been significantly over-subscribed, in a strong show of investor confidence ahead of its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX).
The Hong Kong public offering attracted 61,689 valid applications, representing demand for approximately 339.2 million shares. This equates to around 37.1 times the 9.1 million shares initially made available under the Hong Kong public tranche.
Given that the over-subscription exceeded 15 times but remained below the 50-times threshold, FWD has reallocated 18.3 million shares from the international offering to meet local demand. As a result, the final number of shares under the Hong Kong public offering has increased to 27.4 million, representing 30% of the total shares available under the global offering, prior to any exercise of the over-allotment option.
The international tranche was similarly well received, resulting in an over-allocation of 13.7 million shares and attracting participation from 129 placees. Following the reallocation, the total number of international offer shares stands at 63.9 million.
Consequently, FWD has granted the over-allotment option to the international underwriters, which allows the joint representatives to purchase up to an additional 13.7 million shares to cover any over-allocation. This option is exercisable at any point from the effective date of the international underwriting agreement until 30 days after the close of applications under the Hong Kong public offering.
FWD had previously announced on 26 June its intention to offer 91.3 million shares at an indicative offer price of HK$38 (approximately US$6.16) per share. This followed the company’s re-filing to list on the HKEX in May this year.
Should the over-allotment option be fully exercised, FWD is expected to raise gross proceeds of approximately HK$3.99 billion (US$512 million). In the absence of this exercise, the group anticipates gross proceeds of around HK$3.47 billion (US$445 million).
FWD shares are scheduled to begin trading on the HKEX on 7 July, with a board lot size of 100 shares.
-The Edge
