KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 11): Electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider NationGate Holdings Bhd, en route to listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd, has signed an underwriting agreement with M&A Securities Sdn Bhd for its initial public offering (IPO).

In a statement on Friday (Nov 11), NationGate said the IPO comprises a public issue of 435.5 million new shares in the company and an offer for sale of 290.4 million existing shares.

It said pursuant to the underwriting agreement, M&A Securities will underwrite a total of 207.4 million new shares made available to the Malaysian public and eligible directors and employees as well as others under pink form allocations.

The remaining 228.1 million new shares will be placed out to selected investors.

The company said that as for the offer for sale portion, all 290.4 million shares will be allocated by way of private placement to selected investors and Bumiputera investors approved by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

M&A Securities, besides being the underwriter of NationGate’s IPO, is also the adviser, sponsor and placement agent for the exercise.

NationGate managing director Ooi Eng Leong said the company had grown organically in the past 12 years since its inception.

He said the company has expanded its EMS capabilities to include value-added supporting services such as high precision plastic injection moulding, prototyping for manufacturability, supply chain management and packaging. In 2020, it also expanded its EMS services into the semiconductor industry.

“By being a listed entity, we hope to further increase confidence among our investors, stakeholders and customers while we continue to work towards enhancing the long-term value of our company by providing quality products and services to our customers.

“The listing will enable us to tap into the equity capital market to raise funds for working capital requirements to purchase various raw materials, consumables and electronic components consumed for the Company’s EMS activities in tandem with the expected growth in its EMS business activities,” he said.

Ooi said part of the proceeds will also be used to acquire new machineries and equipment to expand its surface mount technology assembly capacity, repay bank borrowings and to defray estimated listing expenses for the IPO.

NationGate targets to list on the ACE Market by the first quarter of 2023.