Moong Pattana to raise funds though MAI listing

       Moong Pattana International, manufacturer and distributor of Pigeon-brand mother- and baby-care products, has announced a plan to mobilise funds via a public share offering in order to expand its busines and repay debt.
       Chairman and chief executive officer Sumeth Lersumitkul yesterday said the company - formerly Moong Pattana Marketing - planned to sell 24 million initial-public-offeirng shares, with the IPO price expected to be revealed in the middle of next month ahead of a listing on the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI) in October.
       "Now, we're ready to go public. We have 30 years of experience in the mother-care market," he said, adding that despite the economic slowdown, the company had recorded average sales growth of 20 per cent for three consecutive years.
       The Pigeon brand is a trendsetter in mother- and baby-care products, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the local market share, he said.
       Sumeth said some of the proceeds from the fund-raising would be used to pay back some of its Bt100 million in short- and longterm debt, whole the rest would be used for working capital to introduce new products.
       He said the IPO share price would be quoted in a range of five to 10 times over its price-earnings ratio.
       In the first half of this year, Moong Pattana International recorded Bt189.7 million in revenue and Bt26 million in net profit, compared to Bt180.4 million and Bt26 million respectively in the same period last year. For total sales before marketing and other expenses, the company generated Bt205 million, up from Bt196 million over the same period last year.
       Following the MAI share-listing plan, Moong Pattana International's paid-up capital will rise to Bt120 million from Bt90 million through the issuance of 30 million new common shares at a par value of Bt1.
       Apart from the 24 million IPO shares for the public, 4 million shares will be allocated to directors, executives and employees and another 2 million to the company's patrons.
       After the IPO, the Lersumitkul family's shareholding in the company will be diluted to 74.69 per cent.