Vietnamese Cinema Chain’s IPO Halted by CJ CGV
CJ CGV, South Korea’s leading multiplex cinema chain, has called off a plan to separately list its Vietnamese subsidiary on the Korean stock market. It will raise cash through a debt issue instead.
The unit is the largest exhibition chain in Vietnam and accounts for a 45% share of the box office market. A prospectus for its IPO in Korea was published in June.
In consultation with the underwriters, CJ CGV announced last week that it would cancel the share issue, which had aimed to raise up to $116 million of new capital. It blamed a poor response to the book-building process on difficult stock market conditions and worsening investor sentiment. It is the sixth company to cancel a Korean IPO plan since September. Among the others is Kakao Games.
This week CJ CGV Vietnam announced that it has decided instead to issue consol – perpetual, fixed coupon – bonds worth $131 million (KRW 150 billion). The proceeds will be used to repay loans incurred during the company’s expansion phase, and also to invest in new businesses.
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