With the order book closing two-and-a-half times oversubscribed on pricing (Wednesday), lead manager Goldman Sachs decided to upsize the deal by 20%.
A total of 120 million shares were sold, of which 100 million constituted primary shares and 20 million secondary shares. Pricing was settled at NT$40 representing a 6.32% discount to spot, or a 1.08% discount to the company's outstanding GDR, trading at a $6.6 level.
Raising $145 million, the deal also incorporates a 15 million share greenshoe and syndicate members ABN AMRO, Grand Cathay and WI Carr. Geographically, observers reported that 46% of the deal went to the US, 32% to Asia and 22% to Europe.
Given the capricious nature of global equity markets, observers commented that the company would have been satisfied to complete a deal at such reasonable pricing. Originally it had hoped to sell up to 170 million shares, but had cut the offering back prior to roadshows in acknowledgement of the difficulties raising straight equity.
The book is also likely to have been further bolstered by the fact that the underlying stock shed nearly 9% of its value between the beginning and end of roadshows. At this point, it was still up 19.67% year-to-date, propelled by a favourable business outlook moving into the second half.
The company is Taiwan's second largest notebook manufacturer after Quanta and has seen a sharp spike in shipments since February. Much of this increase derives from Dell, to which it is shipping three new built-to-order lines.
About one third of proceeds will be used to pay down debt incurred by Toppoly, the company's new technology for LCD's such as mobile phones and PDA's.
