From left: Northern Solar Holdings Bhd chairman Amirul Azhar Baharom, Northern Solar executive director Edward Chew, Norwatt Power Sdn Bhd shareholder Tengku Arif Temenggong Tengku Fahad Mua'adzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, Northern Solar managing director Lew Shoong Kai, M & A Equity Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Bill Tan and M & A Securities Sdn Bhd head of corporate finance Gary Ting.
KUALA LUMPUR: Northern Solar Holdings Bhd is set to raise RM42.4mil through its initial public offering (IPO), ahead of its listing on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market on Feb 6, 2025.
The solar renewable energy specialist plans to use RM29.2mil (68.8%) of the proceeds raised from the IPO for working capital purposes to expand its solar photovoltaic (PV) systems business.
Northern Solar said RM3.2mil (7.4%) of the proceeds will go towards setting up a new corporate office with an engineering command centre in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, and expanding offices in Johor and Penang to boost its presence in southern and northern Peninsular Malaysia.
The remainder of the proceeds will be used to repay bank borrowings amounting to RM5.5mil (13.0%) and to defray the estimated listing expenses of RM4.6mil (10.8%).
Managing director Lew Shoong Kai said the company anticipates higher working capital needs to keep pace with growing demand for its solar PV system EPCC services and operations and maintenance offerings.
“The allocation of proceeds raised from the Public Issue for our working capital will allow us to recruit engineering and business development employees to support our geographical expansion of our Johor and Penang regional offices as well as purchase of project materials, which are mainly solar PV panels and inverters, being the key components required for our projects.
“By applying a portion of the proceeds from the Public Issue to satisfy the various working capital requirements, Northern Solar will be in a better position to tender and expand its portfolio in the EPCC of solar PV systems segment,” he said in a statement.
Under the listing exercise, Northern Solar is issuing 67.3 million new shares and an offer for sale of 35.6 million existing shares, representing 17.0% and 9.0% of the enlarged share capital of Northern Solar respectively.
At an IPO price of 63 sen per share, Northern Solar’s market capitalisation is projected to be RM249.2mil after listing, based on its enlarged share capital of 395.6 million shares.
The IPO is open for subscription from today to Jan 20, 2025.
M & A Securities Sdn Bhd is the adviser, sponsor, underwriter and placement agent for the IPO exercise.
