KUALA LUMPUR (March 11): Public IB Research has valued soon-to-be listed Bison Consolidated Bhd at RM1.15 based on 25x FY16F EPS of 4.7sen, which implies an upside of 4.3% from its IPO price of RM1.10.

In a note today, the research house said its FY16F earnings growth is supported by i) network store expansion of new outlets, and ii) better product sales mix such as fresh foods with higher margin.

Bison Consolidated is scheduled for listing on March 29.

It is expected to raise approximately RM88.7 million from new issuance of 80.6 million shares.

The Group is involved in the business of press and convenience retail chains in Malaysia under trade names of “myNEWS.com, “newsplus”, “MAGBIT”, and “THE FRONT PAGE”.

It also operates “WHSmith” outlets within Malaysia’s international airports.

“The Group expects to (i) increase outlets by 115 units over the

next two years to boost its revenue, focusing on “myNEWS.com” as the main trade name, (ii) set up another distribution centre in the medium term to improve its warehouse efficiency and cost effectiveness, and (iii) expand outlets by franchising “myNEWS.com”, it said.