Maxis kick-starts USD2.5 billion IPO process

Maxis Communications, the outright owner of Malaysia’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, Maxis Mobile, has formally announced plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO), The Star Online reports. Maxis will offer 2.25 billion shares of its issued and paid-up capital, equivalent to an approximate 30% stake, with 27.67% offered to institutional investors, and the remaining 2.33% set aside for retail investors and 27.67%. The sale is expected to raise around MYR9 billion (USD2.5 billion), making it the largest IPO in Malaysia since 1995; Maxis has yet to provide any details of the offer price per share however. The draft prospectus detailing the IPO proposals also notes that Binariang GSM, Maxis Communications’ parent company, has implemented a restructuring exercise to consolidate all of its telecommunications operations in Malaysia under Maxis’s control.