Price bidding in the electronic subscription system (ESS), to determine the share price of Asiatic Laboratories Ltd, is scheduled to begin on 10 October and continue till 13 October, according to a Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) disclosure on Sunday.
On 31 August, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) allowed the company to determine the cut-off price of its shares through bidding by eligible investors – a requirement for going public under the book-building method.
Only institutional investors can participate in exploring the cut-off price of the company’s shares in the electronic bidding process. The cut-off price will be set based on bids submitted by investors.
Institutional investors are supposed to purchase the company’s shares at the cut-off price, while general investors can buy the shares at a 30pc discount.
The company wants to raise Tk95 crore from the capital market mainly to begin anticancer drug production.
It will use Tk58.05 crore for the acquisition and installation of machinery, Tk6.26 crore for factory construction, and Tk28 crore for repayment of bank loans.
Asiatic Laboratories is engaged in the production and marketing of biological, non-biological, and sterile products like tablets, capsules, syrups, creams, eye products, injections, and more.
Currently, the company produces 6 million tablets, 5 million capsules, 2 million injections, 1.5 million tube creams, and 1.6 million bottles of syrup every year.
Its annual revenues in fiscal 2020-21 grew to Tk145 crore from Tk119.6 crore five years ago.
Local merchant bank Shahjalal Equity Management is the issue manager and BMSL Investments is the registrar for the company’s IPO.
