ThaiBev's BeerCo to list on SGX Mainboard

International Beverage Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ThaiBev, which owns 100% stake in BeerCo, will conduct a public offering of up to 20% of the total number of issued ordinary shares in BeerCo.

ThaiBev says it has been given the green light from SGX-ST through a no-objection letter.

ThaiBev will not be having a general meeting to seek the approval of its shareholders for the proposed spin-off listing.

BeerCo is an investment holding company incorporated in Singapore. Its business includes the production, distribution and sales of beer including ‘Bia Saigon’ and ‘333’ in Vietnam.

The group reported revenue of $4.7 billion for the FY2020 ended September and profit after tax (PAT) of $348 million.

ThaiBev will be releasing the unaudited combined financial statements of ThaiBev, which includes BeerCo for the 1QFY2021 ended December on Feb 10, after the market closes.

This is a one-time release of ThaiBev’s quarterly statements in view of the listing, to show BeerCo’s contribution to the group.

On the rationale of the listing, the board says it sees growth potential in the beer business and that it can be better developed with a dedicated board of directors and management team.

The ThaiBev group could also use part of the proceeds from the proposed vendor sale to repay interest-bearing debt.

The proposed spin-off listing will provide a transparent valuation benchmark for the business under the BeerCo group. It will also allow the core business of ThaiBev to be assessed and valued more directly.

ThaiBev says shareholders can "continue to participate in the growth of BeerCo" as the group intends to retain significant majority of its stake in the business.

Shares in ThaiBev closed 2 cents lower or 2.5% down at 79.5 cents on Feb 4.