Hong Kong: AB InBev’s Asia Pacific unit to start gauging investor demand for Hong Kong IPO

Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Ltd., the Asia Pacific unit of the world’s biggest brewer, starts gauging investor demand on June 28 for a proposed Hong Kong initial public offering, Bloomberg reported on June 17.

The arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA tentatively plans to meet investors through June 28, according to terms for the deal obtained by Bloomberg. The offering could raise at least $5 billion, people familiar with the matter have said.

At $5 billion, the share sale would be the city’s second biggest this year if Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. goes ahead with its Hong Kong listing that could raise as much as $20 billion. The Chinese e-commerce giant filed confidentially with the city’s exchange to sell shares, Bloomberg News reported last week.

Budweiser plans to use all the proceeds from the Hong Kong offering to repay debt in Korea in full and a shareholder loan to AB InBev partially, the terms show.

Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are joint sponsors for the offering, according to a preliminary prospectus filed to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

18 June, 2019