Thailand’s supermarket and convenience-store giant, Big C Supercenter, is expected to raise as much as US$1 billion in its upcoming IPO, doubling the value estimated last year, according to Reuters’s sources.
The supermarket arm of Berli Jucker controlled by billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi aims to go public as early as the fourth quarter of this year, six years after it was delisted.
In November, the business was estimated to be able to raise more than US$500 million in the launch and Berli Jucker approved the IPO in March.
Founded in 1993 by Thai retail conglomerate Central Group, Big C Supercenter made its IPO debut in 2012, raising about US$112 million before being bought by Berli Jucker in 2016 and privatised in 2017. The retailer has approximately 2000 stores – ranging from hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores to pharmacies – in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
Big C Supercenter’s upcoming IPO, together with Thai food distributor CPF Global Food Solution, will join a growing pipeline of Southeast Asian IPOs this year, Reuters said.
