Friday, July 15, 2011

Hibiscus Petroleum public issue oversubscribed 3.8 times

KUALA LUMPUR: Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd's public issue of 10 million new shares made available to the public was oversubscribed 3.8 times.

The company said on Friday, July 15 there were 4,757 applications for 48 million shares with a value of RM36 million.

It also said another 265 million new shares with a value of RM199 million were placed out to selected investors.

'The combined IPO funds raised from the public subscription and placement to selected investors of RM235 million represent RM150 million required to be raised by special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC) under the Securities Commission Equity Guidelines,' it said.

Hibiscus Petroleum said up to 38 million public issue shares available under the placement portion would be reallocated from the placement portion to the retail portion under the clawback provision.

Hibiscus Petroleum managing director, Dr Kenneth Pereira said: 'Being the first SPAC in Southeast Asia and the first independent Malaysian exploration and production company to be listed on Bursa Malaysia, we are very encouraged and motivated by the success of our IPO exercise, which has raised funds totalling RM235 million,' he said.

Pereira said there was strong interest from both the foreign and local investor communities.

On the shareholdings, he said apart from the 20% equity interest held by the non-independent directors and management, the next largest shareholder holds slightly less than 10% of the equity.

'The funds raised through this exercise places Hibiscus Petroleum Berhad in a good position to capitalise on the opportunities available in the oil and gas exploration and production industry in the South Asia, Middle East, East Asia and Oceania regions.

'We look forward to embarking on our next phase, which is to acquire operating companies, businesses or assets, to enhance value for our shareholders,' he said. Hibiscus Petroleum is expected to be listed on Bursa Malaysia on July 25.

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