IMAX China has set the price of its IPO in Hong Kong at the lower to middle of the indicated range.
The company said that its shares will be sold at HK$31 apiece and that it will sell 62 million shares, raising a guaranteed HK$1.922 billion (US$248 million). Those figures could increase if overallotment shares are also sold.
Last week the company said the offering would take place at HK$29.8-HK$34.5 per share. The cautious pricing likely reflects the recent turbulence in Chinese equity markets.
The company will receive US$58.2 million from the sale, with existing shareholders reducing their stakes taking the bulk of the proceeds.
The company say that it plans to use the majority of the net proceeds to expand the IMAX network of theatres in China, as well as to build up its inventory of IMAX theatre systems.
The sale process which straddles a public holiday will close by October 8, 2015 (Hong Kong time). The share are expected to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on the same day.
A pre-listing filing recently showed that as of June 30 there were some 251 IMAX theaters in operation across Greater China, the area covered by China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The company has a further 217 screens on order from major clients including Wanda Cinema Line, CJ-CGV and Shanghai United.
The same filing pointed to massive growth in the mainland Chinese theatrical business, and a forecast that China’s gross box office would overtake that of North America in 2017.
It also showed considerable change within IMAX China’s business. The company plans to cut the number of theaters that are sold outright and to press for more theaters to be installed that work on a revenue sharing basis. That means higher upfront costs for the company, but a larger share of gross box office revenues over many years.