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Singer Finance IPO :
Over 135 times oversubscribed
With the recent Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Singer Finance
(Lanka) Limited being oversubscribed by over 135 times, it established a
new record by achieving the highest level of oversubscription for an IPO
in Sri Lanka, as claimed by NDB Investment Bank Limited (NDBIB), the
Managers and Financial Advisors to the Offering. The shares allocated
for the public recorded an enormous oversubscription of 149.4 times
whilst the allocation for SINGER employees recorded an oversubscription
of 3.3 times.
Singer Finance IPO has more than doubled the previous record for the
highest oversubscription in an IPO at the Colombo Stock Exchange which
was claimed by ODEL PLC for its oversubscription levels of 63.8 times.
The Singer Finance IPO offering 26,666,667 shares at Rs 15 per share
attracted 21,739 valid applications raising approximately Rs. 54
billion. The quantum of funds raised is believed to be only second to
the IPO of Dialog Axiata PLC, another landmark transaction carried out
by NDBIB in 2005, which raised approximately Rs. 56 billion.
Singer Finance CEO, Shantha Wijeweera said the response by the public
has been overwhelming and shows us that people have faith in us and the
SINGER brand. Further, through this basis of allotment the company has
been able to fully satisfy over 42 percent of total applicants in the
IPO.
NDBIB CEO Darshan Perera said that the level of oversubscription is
highly commendable and will be challenged in the coming months with the
numerous IPOs in the pipeline.
“One of our biggest tasks was to give a fair allocation of shares to
both the retailers and high net worth individuals, something we,
together with the Board of Singer Finance, are pleased to have
accomplished”, he said.
The funds raised via this IPO will be utilized by the company to
expand their lending portfolio and expand its branch network. The newest
Singer Finance outlet was opened in Anuradhapura recently with many more
outlets scheduled to be opened in the North and East regions of the
country. |
