AB InBev resumes application for Budweiser’s US$9.8 billion initial public offering in Hong Kong two months after scrapping plans
- Budweiser Brewing Company APAC says there is no guarantee that the IPO will go ahead despite resuming its IPO application
- AB InBev’s Asia-Pacific unit had planned to raise as much as US$9.8 billion from its planned IPO in July
Anheuser-Busch InBev said on Thursday it is continuing to explore an initial public offering in Hong Kong of its Asia-Pacific unit, Budweiser Brewing Company APAC, two months after saying it will not proceed with the planned listing.
The company’s Asia-Pacific unit has resumed its application for the listing of a minority stake of its shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange, it said on Thursday, adding no assurance can be given on whether the transaction will be completed.
AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, was aiming to sell as much as US$9.8 billion in Budweiser stock to seek relief from its heavy debt burden before pulling out of the planned listing in July.
The resumption of the listing plans come as a boost for the Hong Kong stock exchange after Reuters reported last month that China’s biggest e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding had delayed its up to US$15 billion listing in Hong Kong amid growing political unrest in the Asian financial hub.
HKEX makes US$36.6 billion surprise bid to take over London Stock Exchange to grow into a global financial marketplace
Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
In June, the city’s bourse faced another setback when ESR Cayman, Asia-Pacific’s largest warehouse landlord, cancelled its IPO that could have raised between US$1.16 billion and US$1.24 billion
The development comes after Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing unveiled a US$39 billion takeover approach to the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday that received a cool response from investors concerned about its regulatory and financial hurdles.
The takeover is also a bold step in HKEX chief executive Charles Li Xiaojia’s three-year plan to transform the operator of Asia’s third-largest capital market to become the world’s go-to market during Asian trading hours by wooing top Asia-Pacific companies to list in the city while bolstering its gateway role for mainland China investment.
The combined operator would give investors 18 hours of trading between Asia and Europe. Hong Kong was the world’s largest fundraising capital for IPOs in six of the past 10 years, while London remains Europe’s pre-eminent financial hub.
Additional reporting by the Post
