Minor International Pcl (MINT), one of ASEAN’s leading hotel operator, has decided to lower the offering price of its newly issued shares by about 8 per cent without citing any reason for the decision.
The move to lower the price comes after the company previously reduced it by 7.9 per cent to 17.50 Baht from 18.90 Baht for its 563 million shares.
MINT expects the plan to increase subscriptions for the offering.
Chairman William Heinecke, the founder and majority shareholder, will also buy the newly issued shares in proportion to the total shareholding.
After the pandemic situation is resolved, the company said that it will resume its businesses in Thailand and overseas.
President of Bualuang Securities Pichet Sithi-amnuai, the financial advisor of MINT, said the offering of 17.50 baht is a very attractive price as there is also a discount of 14.60 per cent from the weighted average cost of shares during the previous eight working days.
It is the most beneficial price for all shareholders in this Rights Offering subscription.
However, MINT will have to lower the capital being raised from 10.64 billion baht to 9.853 billion baht due to the price cut, according to KGI Securities.
KGI expressed a neutral view on this change as the reduced price may lead the company to receive more capital amid the uncertainty, while the debt to equity (D/E) will not be significantly changed.
Meanwhile, Nomura Securities has a slightly negative view on the MINT’s price decline as MINT would receive fewer funds from the capital raised (9.86 billion baht) in comparison to its original figure of 10.6 billion baht (down by 790 million baht or 0.2 baht per share).
The share adjustment is in accordance with the conditions previously announced by the company.
Nomura said that in this situation it is still not advisable to invest in MINT shares as the circumstances remain uncertain. The company’s turnover in Q2/20 will result in losses from the COVID impact and it will take time to rebound.
