Business — Service Global Footwear Ltd., Pakistan’s biggest shoe exporter, is on the way to an initial public offering (IPO) in the national market to raise capital to invest in its parent’s tire joint venture.
The Lahore-based company plans to raise at least 1.6 billion rupees ($10 million) by offering 41 million shares at a floor price of 38 rupees each, according to Shahid Ali Habib, chief executive officer at Arif Habib Ltd., the sole adviser to the IPO.
The price could be boosted by as much as 40%, meaning Service Global Footwear could raise as much as $14 million, Habib said. The company is scheduled to start taking investor orders as soon as the last week of March, he added.
According to Bloomberg, Service Global Footwear is part of Service Industries Ltd., which has more than 13,000 employees and is known for its shoes and tires in Pakistan. The footwear unit supplies brands including Inditex SA’s Zara, Levi Strauss & Co.’s Dockers, and Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc’s Scholl. The business has an annual revenue of about $44 million and exports to European countries such as Germany, France, and Italy. It has the capacity to produce 3.6 million pairs of shoes annually.
A spokesperson for the parent affirmed the details of the unit’s IPO plans. Service Industries rose as much as 6.4% to a record 985 rupees in Karachi trading as of 12:15 p.m. local time.
