AB InBev Asia unit gains 4% in Hong Kong debut after relaunching IPO

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Shares in AB InBev’s Asia-Pacific unit (HK:), which last week raised about $5 billion after relaunching its initial public offering (IPO), gained as much as 4% on their market debut in Hong Kong on Monday.

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (AB InBev) (BR:), the world’s largest brewer, relaunched the unit IPO this month after cancelling a plan for a bigger float in July citing “several factors, including the prevailing market conditions”.

The Asia unit, Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Ltd , raised about $5 billion in the world’s second-biggest IPO this year, after pricing the Hong Kong float at the bottom of a marketed range.

Budweiser APAC shares rose to as much as HK$28.10 at open on Monday, compared to its IPO price of HK$27 per share. The stock was trading at HK$28, up 3.79%, at 1001 local time (0201 GMT), while the market index () was down 0.2%.

Proceeds from the IPO of Budweiser APAC, whose portfolio of more than 50 beer brands includes Stella Artois and Corona, will help AB InBev reduce debt of over $100 billion accumulated following the purchase of rival SABMiller (LON:) in late 2016.

The brewer also has another goal – to create an Asian champion to spur consolidation. Analysts see the brewing assets of San Miguel (PS:) of the Philippines or of Thai Beverage (SI:) as possible partners or targets.

JPMorgan (N:) and Morgan Stanley (N:) are the joint sponsors of the Budweiser IPO. They are also among the global coordinators for the offering with Bank of America Merrill Lynch (NYSE:) and Chinese investment bank CICC.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.