Century-old Thai energy drinks maker Osotspa to give bourse an IPO boost: Reuters

Energy drinks maker Osotspa Pcl (OSP.BK) on Friday priced the initial public offering of its shares at the high end of the proposed range, valuing the century-old company at 75 billion baht ($2.29 billion) in the largest corporate listing in Thailand this year.

Osotspa priced shares at the top end of its 22 baht-25 baht price range and will use proceeds of 12.7 billion baht to pay debt and build a new factory in Myanmar, its second largest market after Thailand, its president Wannipa Bhakdibutr said.

The 127-year-old company, best known for the M150 and Shark energy brands, will also give Thai listings a boost in a slow year for new floats.

So far this year, total listings added only 23 billion baht to market capitalization at IPO price, compared with 426 billion for 2017, exchange data showed.

“IPOs like this are valuable because not many companies are coming to market,” Chief Investment Officer of Aberdeen Standard Asset Management (Thailand), Adithep Vanabriksha, told Reuters.

Osotspa, which has its beginnings as a pharmacy in Bangkok in 1891, is owned by the billionaire Osathanugrah family.

The company’s chief executive, Petch Osathanugrah, previously said the decision to bring the company to market was to ensure that it would continue to grow and be managed professionally.

In recent years, the company has brought on executives from Unilever Thailand to take on roles as president and chief financial officer to push its expansion into Cambodia and Laos.

“A lot is resting on the new company and how they implement the growth strategy,” Adithep said.

Osotpsa will have its first trading day on Oct. 17.

Cornerstone investors include Aberdeen Standard Investments, AIA, Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn, Krung Thai, Phatra, SCB, Templeton, York Capital Management Global Advisors, Tisco and Segantii Asia-Pacific Equity Multi-Strategy Fund.