HONG KONG: Luggage maker Samsonite has raised $1.25 billion in a Hong Kong share sale, after selling its shares at the lower end of the deal price range amid volatility in the global markets, a report said Friday.
The US firm sold 671.24 million shares at HK$14.50 ($1.86) each, Dow Jones Newswires reported, quoting unnamed sources familiar with the deal, at the bottom of its earlier price range of HK$13.50-HK$17.50 set last week.
The institutional tranche of the offering was four times oversubscribed and the retail tranche, which accounts for 10 percent of the offer, was "slightly oversubscribed", according to Dow Jones.
Samsonite, which makes suitcases, casual bags and travel products, had initially aimed to raise up to $1.5 billion from its listing in the Asian financial hub on June 16.
The pricing of the Samsonite shares at the bottom of the range comes amid caution from investors and weak global market sentiments. The benchmark Hang Seng index fell 0.84 percent Friday to 22,420.37.
Australian miner Resourcehouse cancelled its plan to list in Hong Kong for the fourth time last week, citing unfavourable global market conditions, in an offering originally aimed at raising up to $3.6 billion.
European private equity firm CVC acquired Samsonite in 2007 in a $2 billion deal, following several earlier restructurings by the company which almost went bankrupt in 2003.
CVC said at the time that China and India were key to the firm's growth, a point echoed by Parker who said the pair were Samsonite's second and third biggest markets respectively, after the United States.
Italian fashion house Prada has said it would list its shares in Hong Kong later this month after raising about $2 billion, while US handbag maker Coach, already listed in New York, announced in May that its shares may start trading in the southern Chinese territory by year-end.
Britain's Burberry is also reportedly eyeing a listing in the city as high-end retailers look to profit from the region's rising incomes.
Firms raised more than $50 billion in Hong Kong IPOs last year, including two monster sales by Asian insurer AIA and Agricultural Bank of China, making it the world's biggest market for new listings.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011
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