UPDATE 1-Thai water firm to raise $130 mln from IPO
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BANGKOK, May 13 (Reuters) - Utility firm Thai Tap Water Supply (TTW) will raise 4.2 billion baht ($130.2 million) from an initital public offering this month in Thailand's second largest IPO so far this year.
The company has set its IPO price at 4.20 baht a share, in the middle of an indicative range of 4.0-4.5 baht, Nattharin Talthong, executive director of Kasikorn Securities told Reuters on Tuesday.
"At this price, it was five times oversubscribed," she said of book-building by domestic and foreign institutions on the day.
TTW, majority-owned by construction firm Ch Karnchang CK.BK, is planning to sell 1 billion shares -- 700 million newly issued and 300 million from existing shareholders, which also include MitsuiWater Holding (Thailand), Bangkok Expressway BECL.BK, Bangkok Bank (BBL.BK) and TMB Bank TMB.BK.
Kasikorn Securities, a unit of Kasikornbank KBAN.BK, is financial advisor for the sale. The shares had been offered to retail investors on May 12-13 and are scheduled to trade on the Thai stock market .SETI from May 22.
Most of the proceeds from the share sale will be used to repay bank loans, it has said.
TTW has delayed the IPO several times since last year due to weak market sentiment and its own restructuring. Esso ESSO.BK, a Thai unit of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), raised $294 million last month and made its debut on the Thai bourse last week.
Despite Esso Thailand's tepid debut, analysts expect this year to be a busy year for fund raising in the Thai market .SETI, Southeast Asia's best performer, as improving investor sentiment, boosted by a recovering economy, attract more firms to go public.
TTW has a 30-year contract to supply tap water to Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakorn provinces near Bangkok. Subsidiary Pathum Thani Water has a 25-year contract to supply tap water to Pathum Thani province, north of the capital. ($1=32.24 Baht) (Reporting by Saranya Suksomkiij; Writing by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Kim Coghill)
