• Corrugated market leader’s share issue sets 2021 record with oversubscription by 11 times with over 6,000 applications

Ex-pack Corrugated Cartons Ltd.’s Rs. 700 million IPO witnessed 6,000+ applicants seeking to subscribe, resulting in an over 11 times oversubscription worth over Rs. 8 billion.

“This is the highest rate of oversubscription witnessed by any recent IPO, making it the highest subscribed IPO for 2021,” Ex-pack said. 

The IPO, which opened on 22 October, was oversubscribed in a matter of minutes and, thus, closed the same day. 

“There was active interest from a range of investors, both individuals and institutions, with Ex-pack receiving more than 6,000 applications worth over Rs. 8 billion. Heavy retail activity was also noted,” Ex-pack added.

Discussing the overwhelmingly positive conclusion of the IPO, Ex-pack Managing Director Zulficar Ghouse said: “We are very pleased to say that the interest our IPO received surpassed expectations at every level. I take this opportunity to thank all those who placed their confidence in us and subscribed to our IPO. 

“We look forward to having you onboard our journey and remain resolutely committed to delivering exceptional value to our investors, customers, people, communities and other stakeholders. The resounding success of our IPO is a testament to the underlying value and fundamentals of the company. It also demonstrates that investors have faith in our business, supported by our fundamentals.”

CAL Senior Vice President/Head of ECM and M&A Rizny Faisal said: “We couldn’t be more pleased at the outcome of this issue and take this opportunity to congratulate Ex-pack on presenting such a good case for investors. Given the unprecedented levels of interest in this issue, we have successfully guided the company at every step of the way.”

Asia Securities Head of Investment Banking Sujendra Mather said: “We are proud to be Joint Managers to the Issue and would like to congratulate Ex-pack for delivering one of the most sought-after IPOs of the year. The issue has seen exceptional demand from a diverse spectrum of investors and given the 11x oversubscription, we are quite confident of a positive secondary market performance of the share post commencement of trading.”

Ex-pack Corrugated Cartons offered 83,333,333 ordinary voting shares (a 25% stake) at a price of Rs. 8.40 per share through its IPO, resulting in a projected market capitalisation of Rs. 2.8 billion. This translates into an estimated forward PER of 7.7x for FY22 and implied TTM PER (as of August 2021) of 8.9x. 

Funds raised by the IPO will go towards a Rs. 3 billion ultramodern production facility, which is expected to raise monthly volumes from 2,650 metric tons, currently, to 4,000 metric tons by 2025. Ex-pack serves top corporate customers and brands, worldwide, across a range of industries, including FMCG, consumer durables, apparel, tea and fisheries. The company’s international presence extends to eight key markets, including the Maldives, Qatar, India, the USA, Australia, Madagascar, the Seychelles and Reunion Island.

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