KARACHI – Airlink Communication Limited (Airlink) has successfully raised Rs6.43 billion at the strike price of Rs71.5 per share through a two-day book-building process; making it the Pakistan’s biggest-ever private sector IPO.
The IPO witnessed record participation of around Rs11 billion by over 500 investors.
The retail portion of the IPO will be open for public subscription on 6th and 7th September 2021 at a strike price of PKR 71.5 per share.
Congratulations Pakistan! We successfully executed the largest IPO in Pakistan's history. @pakstockexgltd Exciting times ahead. Following are the moments we will cherish throughout our lives! @ImranKhanPTI @ImranIsmailPTI @JSGlobalOnline @Hammad_Azhar #LargestIPOinPakistan pic.twitter.com/kwsoMcjreC
— Kamran Nasir (@MKamranNasir) August 31, 2021
JS Global Capital Limited is the consultant and book-runner of the issue.
Pakistan has seen a record streak of IPOs this year. Aided by economic recovery, Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed eight equity Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in fiscal year 2020-21 that raised a record Rs20 billion from the country’s capital markets, stated Arif Habib Limited (AHL) in a report.
Air Link, which started operations about a decade ago and has since become one of the largest distributors of phones in the country, saw sales boom around 50% to 3.6 million units in year ended June.
The company plans to issue 60 million new shares and it will sell 30 million from his holdings, said Kamran Nasir, CEO at JS Global Capital Ltd., consultant and bookrunner to the transaction. The IPO will be the LARGEST since Interloop Ltd. raised about 5 billion rupees in 2019.
Air Link, which has also recently expanded into mobile assembling, plans to use the funds to expand its distribution network. It aims to have 150 outlets by 2026 from 14 currently, which will boost margins together with the assembly business, said Nasir. Air Link expects its revenue to triple to 129 billion rupees and net income surging 500% to 9.2 billion rupees by fiscal 2025 from 2020, according to Kamran Nasir.
