E-Malt.com News article: New Zealand: Craft brewer Moa Group sees strong demand for shares ahead of planned listing on the New Zealand stock exchange

Strong demand for shares in New Zealand craft brewer Moa Group ahead of its planned listing on the New Zealand stock exchange means investors are likely to get less than their fill, The Wall Street Journal reported on October, 12.

Moa, which makes a range of craft beers and ciders, will be the first locally-owned brewer listed on the exchange since Lion delisted in 2009 after it was bought by Japan’s Kirin Holdings.

The response from investors has been “extremely positive”, Moa chief executive Geoff Ross said in a statement, with the 15 million New Zealand (US$12 million) offer oversubscribed by just over twice the amount sought in an institutional bookbuild. The public offer will open on Oct. 19 and close on Nov. 8. The stock will list Nov. 13.

The Marlborough-based beer company is selling around 12.8 million shares at NZ$1.25 each, which, along with existing shareholdings, will give it a market capitalization of around NZ$38 million.

Although the eight-year-old company is moving into the public domain it hasn’t scaled back its penchant for political incorrectness – the offer document is littered with pictures of seductive women and tips for the so-called modern man: a strategy designed to set the company apart in an increasingly crowded market for boutique beers.

Moa plans to use the capital raised to build a bigger brewery-increasing production by fivefold-and expand its marketing budget.

Sales at the company, which already exports to the U.S. and Australia, grew by 88% in the financial year through March, according to the offer document. It expects sales to increase by 97% this year and to double again in 2014.

“The extended shelf-life achieved through the bottle-conditioning brewing process gives the Reserve and Estate ranges a competitive advantage over mass-produced beer as an internationally exported product,” Moa said in its offer document. The company is currently operating at a loss as it invests in growth.

Craigs Investment Partners and Forsyth Barr are joint lead managers on the offer.

12 October, 2012