Lub-rref IPO subscription to begin today
General investors can apply to buy the company’s primary shares until 1 February
The initial public offering (IPO) subscription of Lub-rref (Bangladesh) Limited is due to begin today.
General investors will be able to apply to buy the company's primary shares until 1 February.
On 18 November last year, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) approved that the company publish its IPO prospectus to raise Tk150 crore for business expansion.
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According to the book building method of IPO, half of the company's shares will be issued to eligible institutional investors who have set the cut-off price of the shares at Tk30 each through bidding.
The general public can apply to buy the remaining half of the local lubricant company's shares at a 10% discount on the cut-off price.
According to the stock exchanges that operate the electronic bidding platform, institutional investors' bids ranged from Tk13-60 for each share with a face value of Tk10.
Lub-rref will invest Tk98 crore to expand its existing manufacturing plant. According to the IPO prospectus, this expansion will enable the company to capture 20% of the market share from the existing 8%.
BNO Lubricants – a brand of the company – sells around 10,000 tonnes of lubricant annually for Tk175 crore.
Bangladesh's lubricant market – with an average 5% annual growth – has now risen to have an annual demand of 1.2 lakh tonnes, and the annual turnover is around Tk6,000 crore, the IPO prospectus added.
Incorporated in 2001, Lub-rref launched its manufacturing plant commercially in 2006.
Currently, 60% of the company's lubricants are made of responsibly-recycled lubricants, while the remaining 40% are made from imported base oil, the key raw material for lubricant.
The repayment of bank loans of Tk46 crore from the IPO fund will help the company reduce its finance costs. It is spending Tk6 crore on the public offering process.
As of the fiscal year that ended on 30 June, 2019, Lub-rref earned Tk2.08 against each of its shares, while its five-year average earnings per share was Tk2.23.
The net asset value per share of the Tk100 crore paid-up capital company was Tk31.92 a year ago. It would be Tk25.96 without adding the revaluation surplus of assets.
NRB Equity Management is working as the issue manager to facilitate the stock market listing of the company.
