New Media, the magazine publishing unit of tycoon Albert Yeung Sau-shing's Emperor Group, plans to raise up to HK$112 million from an initial public offering to enhance the titles' editorial content and upgrade its publishing technology to boost production efficiency, according to the sales document.
New Media publishes five Chinese-language magazines, namely Oriental Sunday, Weekend Weekly, New Monday, Economic Digest and Fashion and Beauty.
The company plans to sell 150 million new shares at a price range of 65 HK cents to 75 HK cents, which represents an average 11.55 times to 14.44 times of its historical earnings, according to media analysts.
The offering will kick off next Tuesday and the shares are expected to trade on February 12, according to market sources.
'The valuation of the company is not that attractive as peers like Next Media now trades at 15 times earnings, and Next Media enjoys better business exposure,' a media analyst said.
New Media planned to distribute 30 per cent of net profit to shareholders after listing, the sales document said.
The publisher made a HK$31 million profit for the year ended March last year, up from HK$23.3 million the previous year, with revenue of HK$390 million, up from HK$362 million a year earlier.