AMTD successfully leads Carnival Group International Holdings Ltd.’s US$89mm Top-up share placement
On Jun 13, 2016, Carnival Group International Holdings Ltd (996.HK, “Carnival International”) successfully priced its US$89mm top-up share placement. AMTD acted as a Joint Placing Agent and was one of the lead banks in the transaction.
The offering was completed using a “top-up” structure, in which secondary shares were first offered by the major shareholder to potential investors. Primary shares were then delivered to the major shareholder when new shares were registered and issued. Under this structure, the transaction was completed efficiently by capturing the optimal window and minimising potential market risks.
Overnight bookbuild for the transaction happened after market close on Jun 13, with the final offer price set at HK$0.95, or a discount of c.10% to the previous close. The final offer size of US$89mm representing 4.9% of the total share capital prior to the transaction. The transaction was well supported by the PRC and HK-based long-only investors, who liked the Qingdao carnival business that had already started operation, as well as the touring carnival, dining and education businesses that evolve around a one-stop experiential consumption theme. Investors believe that the growth potentials of these businesses will bring significant upside to the company’s future profits, cash flows and share price performance. Share price on the next trading day (Jun 14) demonstrated positive feedback from the market, with the stock closing at HK$1.01, 6.3% above the top-up placement price. In summary, the offering has achieved satisfactory results for both the issuer and investors, and a precise pricing strategy in the offering process has been the key to success.
In Mar 2016, AMTD acted as the Lead Global Coordinator, Joint Bookrunner and Joint Lead Manager, successfully led the US$180mm 3-year debut public USD bond offering for Carnival International, which received highly positive feedback and support from the market and investors. The repeated engagement of AMTD by Carnival International exemplifies the quality of AMTD’s services to corporate issuers.