AB InBev pulls Budweiser listing, cancelling year's largest IPO | Progresiv
Anheuser-Busch InBev will not proceed with the planned listing in Hong Kong of its Asia Pacific unit, Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Ltd, in what would have been the world's biggest initial public offering (IPO) of 2019. 
AB InBev, the world's largest brewer, was aiming to sell as much as 9.8 billion dollars in Budweiser stock to seek relief from its heavy debt burden.
The cancelled IPO is also a setback to the Hong Kong stock exchange, which hoped Budweiser's listing would help attract other high-profile international companies at a time of increased trade tensions between the United States and China.
UK-based data centre operator Global Switch and consumer lender Home Credit Group are among the international companies that have been eying Hong Kong IPOs.
AB InBev said the decision was due to "several factors, including the prevailing market conditions," despite the Hong Kong stock market being almost flat on Friday and trading close to its historic highs.
Sources close to the IPO said investors were unwilling to entertain AB InBev's expectations for the Budweiser APAC business to trade at a valuation multiple above that of peers.
The cancelled IPO is also a blow to the investment banks leading it, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley.
Budweiser APAC was seeking to raise between 8.3 billion dollars and 9.8 billion dollars through the float, much of which was to go toward paying down debt at its highly leveraged parent.
AB InBev has been working to reduce a debt pile of more than 100 billion dollars that it built up with the purchase of nearest rival SABMiller in late 2016.
AB InBev cut its dividend for 2018. It has said it will reduce its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio to below 4.0 by the end of 2020 from 4.6 at the end of last year, saying it is not dependent on the Asian flotation. It puts the optimal ratio at 2.
The company had positioned its Hong Kong listing as creating a champion in Asia-Pacific, where sales are growing as increasingly wealthy consumers turn to premium beer brands.
The IPO was set to precede Alibaba's plans to raise as much as 20 billion dollars through a Hong Kong listing. (www.esmmagazine.com)
