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Cuckoo Said to Seek as Much as 750 Million Ringgit in IPO of Unit in Kuala Lumpur

Stock prices displayed inside the trading gallery of the RHB Investment Bank Bhd. headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. The Malaysian ringgit fell to its lowest level since the Asian Financial Crisis as the currency was weighed by the dollar’s rise and a widening rate differential with the US. Photographer: Samsul Said/Bloomberg (Samsul Said/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- The Malaysian unit of South Korea’s Cuckoo Holdings Co. could raise as much as 750 million ringgit ($172 million) from a planned initial public offering in Kuala Lumpur next year, people with knowledge of the matter said.

A Malaysia listing could value Cuckoo International (Mal) Sdn. at as much as 3 billion ringgit, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Details such as size and timing could change, they said. 

A representative from Cuckoo in Malaysia declined to comment. 

The company filed an IPO prospectus last week, proposing to sell up to 222 million existing shares and about 143 million new ones at an as yet undecided price. 

Cuckoo International was founded in 2014 to distribute rice cookers and water purifiers in Malaysia, and its lineup has since expanded to include products such as air purifiers as well as kitchen and home appliances.

Cuckoo’s Seoul-traded shares are up about 47% this year. 

Sunway Healthcare Group, MMC Port Holdings Bhd. and South Korea’s OCI Holdings Co.’s local polysilicon unit are among other companies considering listings in Kuala Lumpur next year, Bloomberg News has reported. Malaysia has hosted 38 IPOs this year totaling about $1.4 billion, up from 20 worth $569 million in the same period in 2023, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

RHB Investment Bank Bhd. and AmInvestment Bank Bhd. are helping to coordinate Cuckoo’s Malaysia IPO, the prospectus shows. 

--With assistance from Julia Fioretti and Ram Anand.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.