Pavilion said to raise RM800m in IPO

Pavilion REIT, part-owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, plans to sell units on Malaysia’s stock exchange as early as next month through a property trust, said two people with knowledge of the matter.

The company, which owns the Pavilion shopping, residential and office project in Kuala Lumpur, aims to raise about RM800 million (US$255 million), said the people, who declined to be identified as the information is private. The size of the initial public offering may rise to as much as RM1 billion depending on demand, one of the people said.

At RM800 million, the Pavilion IPO would be Malaysia’s third-biggest share sale this year, after offerings by Bumi Armada Bhd and MSM Malaysia Bhd. Companies canceled or postponed US$8.9 billion of IPOs around the world in the third quarter as stocks plunged, putting the market on track to set a record for pulled deals.

Fitness First Ltd, which had sought to list in Singapore by the end of this year, is among those delaying IPO plans, people with knowledge of the matter said this month.

Pavilion is owned by Malton Bhd. Chairman Desmond Lim Siew Choon and his wife, together with Qatar Investment Authority. Its flagship development comprises a 1.4 million square-foot retail mall with 450 outlets, plus one office building and two residential towers in Kuala Lumpur’s city center, according to Malton’s website.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd and Credit Suisse Group AG are managing the offering, the people said. Desmond Lim and his wife were at meetings and couldn’t immediately comment, according to their secretaries. A spokeswoman for Pavilion, who asked not to be identified, had no immediate comment.

By Bloomberg