PSX prepares for tech powerhouse IPO
People walk outside the Pakistan Stock Exchange building in Karachi, Pakistan, January 11, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS
Excitement is brewing at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the first company of fiscal year 2024 is set to join its main board next month. Summetry Group, a dynamic tech company, has announced plans to raise a minimum equity of Rs430.27 million by offering 101.24 million shares to institutional and individual investors. The offering will be made at a minimum price of Rs4.25 per share through a 100% book-building process – Dutch auction – with a floor price of Rs4.25 per share. The share price may rise by a maximum of 40% to Rs5.95 per share during the auction, allowing investors to find the best strike price.
Lead manager of the issue, Topline Securities, highlighted that Summetry Group has evolved from a marketing agency into a tech powerhouse. The company plans to utilise the funds raised to develop new intellectual properties (IPs) using in-house expertise, create new office space, procure new equipment, hire additional talent, and market the planned intellectual property.
The book-building process is designed to attract potential investors from various backgrounds. Bidders will be allowed to place bids for 100% of the issue size, and the successful bidders (institutional and high net worth individual investors) will be provisionally allotted 75% of the issue size, equivalent to 75.93 million shares, in the first round. The remaining 25% (25.31 million shares) will be offered to retail investors. If the retail portion remains unsubscribed, the unsubscribed shares will be allotted to successful book-building bidders on a pro-rata basis.
Symmetry Group, a digital technology and experiences company, specialises in digital products and services. The company acknowledges potential threats, and in its prospectus, it states that cyberattacks pose a risk to its business operations. The company has taken measures to mitigate this risk, but a successful cyber-attack could impact customers, revenue, profitability, and goodwill.
Despite facing challenges, Symmetry Group’s net consolidated profit rose to Rs71.29 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, compared to Rs57.48 million in the previous fiscal year (FY21). However, the company pointed out that revenue from two leading clients, HBL and Procter and Gamble, declined substantially in FY22 compared to FY21. Future profitability may be affected if these trends continue and the company fails to generate additional revenue from existing business lines and Ips, it said.
Investors and market participants eagerly await the book-building process, which is expected to commence on August 8-9, 2023, for institutional and high net worth individuals, and on August 17-18 for retail investors.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 29th, 2023.
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