Budweiser fails to price its IPO as scheduled; share must price by Monday, brokers say
- Budweiser will need to price its Hong Kong shares by Monday to achieve a successful listing on July 19
- Listing could raise up to US$9.8 billion in Hong Kong, surpassing Uber, which raised US$8.1 billion in New York in May, as the largest IPO this year
Budweiser Brewing Company APAC has failed to price its Hong Kong initial public offering, as what could potentially be the world’s largest IPO this year runs flat with investors while bankers and the company failed to reach a consensus on pricing.
The company, the largest beer brewer in Asia-Pacific by sales, is likely to set the price towards the lower end of the marketed range of HK$40 to HK$47 (US$5.1 to US$6.01) apiece, according to a person familiar with the IPO and a fund manager briefed by bookrunners of the deal.
Budweiser, the Asian unit of Belgian beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), initially planned to fix the price on Friday, its prospectus showed. It will need to announce the price by Monday to achieve a successful listing on July 19.
Depending on the final pricing, Budweiser is potentially raising US$8.3 billion to US$9.8 billion from the listing, surpassing Uber, which raised US$8.1 billion in New York in May to become the world’s largest IPO this year.
The listing could be suspended or withdrawn if the company cannot set the price on Monday
Global investors have subscribed for more than US$10 billion worth of shares, however about 70 per cent of these orders are from hedge funds who bought at prices near the bottom end and tend to hold for the short term, according to a fund manager who declined to be named.