KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday held a gong ceremony to celebrate the listing of BF Biosciences Limited (BFBIO).
BFBIO is a pharmaceutical joint venture between Ferozsons Laboratories Limited and Bago Group of Argentina. BF Biosciences has spearheaded Pakistan’s emergence in biotech manufacturing. It was also involved in the export of biotech pharmaceuticals especially during the Covid-19pandemic. BFBIO has been producing biological medicines for Cancer, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and Hepatitis-C for both local and international markets.
Present at the ceremony to strike the gong were Osman Khalid Waheed (CEO of Ferozsons Laboratories Limited), Farhan Rafiq (COO of BF Biosciences Limited), Rallys Eduardo Pliauzer (Group Director, Grupo Empresarial Bago S.A.) and Shahid Ali Habib (CEO of Arif Habib Limited, the Lead Manager to the Issue).
On behalf of PSX, the guests were welcomed by Nihal Qasim (PSX’s Director), Dr Fakhara Rizwan (PSX’s Company Secretary and Chief Legal & Corporate Affairs Officer PSX), and senior management of Pakistan Stock Exchange. The Argentinian Ambassador to Pakistan, Sebastian Sayus also attended the event.
To expand and enhance production capabilities and to meet post-expansion working capital needs, BF Biosciences Limited planned to raise Rs 1,375,000,000 from an Issue comprising 25,000,000 ordinary shares of face value worth Rs 3 each, at a floor price of Rs 55 per share. The Issue of 25,000,000 ordinary shares were offered through 100 percent book building method. Initially, 75 percent of the Issue size i.e. 18,750,000 shares were allotted to successful bidders and 25 percent of the Issue size i.e. 6,250,000 ordinary shares, were offered to retail investors.
The book building which was held on September 25 and 26, 2024, was highly successful. The strike price of Rs 77 per share being determined. Moreover, a total participation of Rs 4,670 million against the Issue size of Rs 1,375 million was received. This translates to an oversubscription of 3.4 times.
For the public subscription portion of the Issue, applications for a total of 6,325,000 ordinary shares against the Issue size of 6,250,000 ordinary shares were received. Overall, a total of 2,743 applications for 6,325,000 shares amounting to Rs 487,025,000 were received. The PSX E-IPO service facilitated 372 applications for 418,500 shares amounting to Rs 32,224,500.
Speaking at the gong ceremony, Dr Fakhara Rizwan said the successful completion of the IPO and listing of BF Biosciences Limited is a proud moment for Pakistan Stock Exchange where the Issue was oversubscribed by 3.4 times. This will be a valuable addition to the pharmaceutical sector of the Exchange providing increased options for investors on the Stock Exchange.
On the successful listing of BF Biosciences Limited, Rallys Eduardo Pliauzer expressed his views that as the founding chairman of BF Biosciences Limited, he was happy to see the Company flourish over time. BF Biosciences is the first joint venture (JV) of the Bago Group outside Latin America and post Initial Public Offering (IPO), will also be the first Bagó affiliate to be publicly listed. It is also the first JV between corporate entities of Argentina and Pakistan.
Since the start of this joint venture, the Bagó Group’s technical and logistic support has always been there for BF Biosciences.
He expressed his confidence that post expansion, with a broader range of products along with synergies from Bago and Ferozsons, BF Biosciences will quickly emerge as a leading pharma company locally and in export
markets.
Speaking on the occasion, Osman Khalid Waheed said as the first Pakistani pharmaceutical company to be listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange in 1960, Ferozsons Laboratories Limited is extremely proud of the listing of its JV subsidiary, BF Biosciences Limited on the Pakistan Stock Exchange six decades later.
Ferozsons began as a national enterprise built to serve patients in Pakistan and abroad. “The idea of a shared national ownership in our efforts through a public listing was an important part of our founder’s vision and legacy. From inception, we have focused on Putting Patients First and addressing the most pressing unmet medical needs,” he said.
Farhan Rafiq, commented on this significant milestone and thanked all the investors for the trust they have reposed during the IPO of BF Biosciences Limited.
Shahid Ali Habib, while sharing his views said that he is excited to see an exceptional level of participation from a diverse range of institutional investors, including mutual funds, banks, insurance companies, provident and pension funds, brokerage houses, and both foreign and local investors.
“This remarkable enthusiasm has resulted in an impressive oversubscription of 3.4 times, underscoring the strong confidence and trust in our offering.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024