KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 13): Wellspire Holdings Bhd, a distributor of snack food in Thailand, has signed an underwriting agreement with TA Securities Holdings Bhd for the group's initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia.

The IPO entails a public issue of 124.6 million shares and an offer for sale of a similar number of existing shares, Wellspire said in a statement on Tuesday (Dec 13).

Of the public issue shares, 36 million will be made available to the public via balloting, while 10 million will be allocated to the eligible directors and employees of Wellspire. The remaining 78.6 million shares will be allocated by way of private placement to selected investors.

Wellspire said TA Securities will underwrite a total of 36 million shares.

Wellspire Group focuses on snack food with sunflower seeds as its main product. The group is the exclusive distributor of "ChaCha" brand sunflower seeds and nuts for the Thai market.

The group also distributes other seeds and nuts, and baked and confectionery products, comprising third-party brands as well as Wellspire's own brands.

"Proceeds from the IPO will be utilised to acquire or construct a warehouse and operational facility in Thailand, fund working capital and defray listing expenses," said Wellspire.

"The location of the warehouse and operational facility is set to be in the central region of Thailand or within the Pathum Thani province, which will be strategically located close to Bangkok ports, for receipts of purchases from overseas suppliers," the group added.