Wilmar says listing of China ops accepted by regulator but waiting for approval

SINGAPORE (July 12): Wilmar International says the application for the listing of its operations in China on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange has been accepted.

Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co (YKA), a 99.99%-owned subsidiary of Wilmar, is one of the largest agribusiness and food processing companies in China. Its business activities include the processing and sales of kitchen food, feed ingredients and oleochemicals in China

Should the application for the listing be approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), Wilmar says an initial public offering of new YKA shares can be expected. The new shares will constitute 10% of the total pro-forma share capital of YKA after the IPO.

See: Wilmar kept at 'buy' by UOB as China ops takes a step closer to listing

There will no secondary offering.

As part of the IPO, Wilmar will continue to retain its current number of shares held in YKA and is expected to retain majority control in YKA post-listing and for the foreseeable future.

Immediately after the IPO, Wilmar is anticipated to hold 89.99% of YKA via its wholly-owned subsidiary, Bathos Company.

The net IPO proceeds are for the purpose of funding YKA’s capital expenditure requirements.

Wilmar has already obtained approval from the Singapore Exchange for the restructuring and spin-off of YKA as part of the proposed IPO.

“The proposed listing and IPO is intended to further the growth of Wilmar’s China operations by increasing its market visibility and awareness among current and potential customers, investors and the public in China in the important agricultural and food processing sectors. The proposed IPO is also expected to unlock shareholder value for Wilmar,” says the group in a Friday night filing.

Shares in Wilmar closed 4 cents higher at $3.76 on Friday.