CTOS Digital garners 51,494 applications for 1.26 billion shares worth RM1.38bil

Article was originally published by New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR: CTOS Digital Bhd’s (CTOS Digital) initial public offering (IPO) shares has been oversubscribed by 27.6 times from its retail tranche, paving the way for its listing the main market Bursa Malaysia on July 19, 2021.

In a statement today, the credit reporting agency said the Bumiputera portion was 14.37 times oversubscribed, with a total of 14,192 applications for 338.1 million issue shares received.

The public portion was oversubscribed by 40.77 times, with a total of 37,302 applications for 918.9 million issue shares received.

CTOS Digital said it had garnered 51,494 applications for 1.26 billion shares with a total value of RM1.38 billion, out of the 44 million shares available for application by the Malaysian public.

It added that the RM1.38 billion received for the public tranche was the greatest retail demand for an IPO since 2013.

Meanwhile, the institutional offering of 936 million IPO shares, comprising 900 million offer shares and 36 million issue shares offered to Malaysian and foreign institutional and selected investors, has been fully subscribed.

The company said a total of 23 cornerstone investors subscribed to 54.4 per cent of the institutional offering. The remaining shares available for book-building saw an overwhelming demand of over RM6.5 billion.

Participants include renowned names such as Employees Provident Fund Board, Permodalan Nasional Berhad, Aberdeen Standard Investment, AIA, Eastspring Investments, FIL Investment Management and JP Morgan Asset Management.

Group chief executive officer Dennis Martin said the strong oversubscription in both the retail and institutional offerings showcased the investing community’s confidence in both the company’s track record and strong growth trajectory.

“The credit reporting industry in Malaysia and Asean is at relatively early stages than developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

“As the leading player, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the potential for growth across existing and new segments and verticals,” he said.

Martin said CTOS Digital’s ambition is to build a comprehensive credit reporting ecosystem in the region.

“The response from the investing public – both institutional and retail – reflects their confidence in our ability to realise these ambitions,” he added.

CTOS Digital’s IPO price is at RM1.10 per share, and the listing could push the company’s market capitalisation to RM2.4 billion.

The IPO is expected to raise RM1.2 billion, including more than RM900 million from an offer-for-sale allocation by existing shareholders of 900 million shares at RM1.10 per share.

CTOS itself is raising RM220 million with the issuance of 200 million new shares at RM1.10 each.

CTOS’ listing is the largest since Mr DIY Group (M) Bhd’s RM1.5 billion IPO last year.

Both Mr DIY and CTOS come from private equity firm Creador’s stable.