Moa IPO confirmed – shares to be offered at $1.25

Craft beer brewer Moa Beer will launch its $15 million initial public offfering next Friday, offering Kiwi investors the chance to buy its shares at $1.25 each.

Moa's just-released investment statement reveals the company is expecting to raise $15 million from the sale of 12 million shares, or 40.5% of the company, at $1.25 each.

Of those shares, 10.88 million will be issued to new shareholders, representing 36.76% of Moa, and 1.12 million, representing 3.78% of Moa, will be issued to existing shareholders - the Business Bakery, Pioneer Capital and Allan Scott Wines.

The statement also reveals the brewer made a net loss of  $2.85 million in the year to March 2012 and losses are forecast to continue until 2014. Moa will not pay dividends for the period covered by the prospectus.

"Moa is currently a loss-making entity; it is not anticipated to make a net profit in the near term as the business invests in growth,"  the statement says.

In total, 12.8 million shares will be offered to the public, including oversubscriptions to the offer of up to $1 million, which would give Moa an expected market capitalisation of about $38 million after conclusion of the IPO.

The IPO will open on October 19 and close on November 8.

It is intended Moa will then list on the NZX on November 13, giving the local stock exchange a locally-listed brewer for the first time since Lion delisted in 2009 when it was bought by Japanese brewer Kirin.

Moa Beer chief executive and one of its major pre-IPO shareholders Geoff Ross revealed details of the offer at the Basement Bar in Auckland's Britomart precinct.

Guests were offered Moa's breakfast beer on arrival.

A bookbuild to institutional investors and NZX firms had been completed on October 9.

Mr Ross, chairman of NZX-listed Ecoya and the founder of 42 Below vodka, says the response from retail brokers and a range of New Zealand institutions has been extremely positive, with the $15 million offer oversubscribed by 103% – more than double the amount sought  at the bookbuild clearing price.

Moa directors have registered a prospectus and approved investment statement on its website www.moabeer.com.

More than 1500 New Zealand investors have pre-registered their interest in the issue on the website www.ownabrewery.co.nz.

John Moore, head of equity capital markets at Craigs Investment Partners - joint lead manager for the offer, said the firm now had to wait and see how many of those interested investors placed orders.

The minimum application is for 1500 shares.

gbond@nbr.co.nz