mai President Prapan Charoenprawatt said MEB will be listed and start trading on mai in the Services industry group.
MEB, a subsidiary of Central Retail Corporation pcl (CRC), distributes e-books and owns a 75 percent stake in Hytexts Interactive Co., Ltd. engaged in the distribution of e-readers and service provider of digital library platform for organization called Hibrary. The group of companies sells products and services via websites -- mebmarket.com, readAwrite.com and hytexts.com - and application software namely meb readAwrite and Hytexts. There are about 8 million registered users and more than 180,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) of literatures on these platforms. In the first nine months of 2022, e-book sales accounted for 92 percent of its total revenue.
MEB has a paid-up capital of THB 150 million consisting of 277.50 million existing common shares and 22.50 million newly issued shares, with a par value of THB 0.50 each. On top of the newly issued shares, existing shareholders namely Two Bees (HK) Limited and Brain Ventures Limited sold 53 million shares through the IPO. The company offered 28.34 million shares to persons at underwriters' discretion, 38 million shares to the institutional investors and juristic persons that participated in the book building process, 7 million shares to patrons of the company and its subsidiary, 0.50 million shares to directors, executives and/or associates of the company and its subsidiary, and 1.66 million shares to employees during February 3, 6 and 7, 2023.
The IPO shares have been priced at THB 28.50 each with the offering value of THB 2.15 billion. The IPO price was based on book building and equivalent to the price-to-earnings ratio (P/E ratio) of 26.64 times. The earning per share is equal to THB 1.07, which was calculated from the company's net profit of THB 321.16 million over the past 12 months (from Oct 1, 2021, to Sept 30, 2022), divided by fully diluted shares. Bualuang Securities pcl is the financial advisor and lead underwriter.
MEB Chief Executive Officer Ravivon Mahasith said MEB is a leader in online platform for literature sales in Thailand, given its easily accessible platforms which are widely recognized by service users and writers, and content for every age. The proceeds arising from the fundraising will be used for business expansion on existing platforms by adding more online literature and embarking on new business related to existing business abroad with a focus on using the native languages of its overseas markets. The fund raised will also be utilized to acquire the copyrights of Thai literature and translate into English, improve existing platforms to better meet customers' needs and as working capital.
MEB's major shareholders after the IPO are CRC (56.08 percent), Ravivon Mahasith (9.38 percent) and Kittipong Saelim (9.38 percent). MEB's dividend policy is to pay at least 40 percent of net profit from its consolidated financial statements after legal reserves.
For more information on MEB, please see the company's prospectus at the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.or.th; and for general information, please visit www.meb.com and www.set.or.th.
Source: SET Corporate Communications