AB InBev’s Budweiser Brewing Co APAC Raises $5bn in Hong Kong Listing

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Asian business unit finally succeeds with a $5bn Hong Kong listing after pricing it at the bottom of a marketed range.

The world’s largest brewer had planned for a bigger initial public offering (IPO) of around $9.8bn in July but had to shelve the plans following what it cited as “several factors, including the prevailing market conditions”.

In a statement on Tuesday, AB InBev said the IPO of Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Ltd was priced at HK$ 27 ($3.44) per share, the bottom end of the HK$27 to HK$30 indicative range.

The IPO included an option that would allow the brewing company to sell up to 36.8% more shares in the offering.

AB InBev’s Budweiser Brewing Company APAC would be focused on faster growth markets such as China, India and Vietnam, which is part of the reason for its success, sources say.

At HK$27 per share, Budweiser Brewing Co will have a market value of $45.6 billion.

Money raised from the IPO will be used to pay down debt of over $100bn the brewing company racked-up following its acquisition of SABMiller in 2016. AB InBev sold off its slow-growing Australian business unit in July to Japanese brewer Asahi for $11.3bn.

The stock of Budweiser Brewing Company APAC will be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Sept. 30.

Sources say AB InBev may also be eyeing other acquisitions in Asia Pacific with the IPO a success. Potential acquisitions may include San Miguel of the Philippines or of ThaiBev.

September 24, 2019