UUE inks underwriting deal with M&A Securities

KUALA LUMPUR: UUE Holdings Bhd has signed an underwriting agreement with M&A Securities Sdn Bhd for its initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia.

In a statement, the company said the IPO entails the public issue of 124.9 million new shares in UUE and an offer for sale of 37.46 million existing UUE shares.

Of the 124.9 million public issue shares, 30.42 million will be made available to the Malaysian public through balloting, 40.59 million to eligible directors, employees, and persons who have contributed to the success of UUE Group, 38.57 million reserved for private placement to Bumiputera investors approved by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) and 15.32 million by way of private placement to selected investors.

The offer for sale of 37.46 million existing UUE shares will be placed to Bumiputera investors approved by Miti.

M&A Securities will underwrite 71.01 million public issue shares, comprising the shares made available to the Malaysian public as well as to the eligible persons.

UUE and its subsidiaries are primarily involved in the provision of underground utilities engineering solutions, with a focus on pipe laying using the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) method in addition to the open cut and micro trenching excavation methods. The group also manufactures and trades high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes, principally for its underground utilities engineering projects.

According to the company, proceeds from the IPO will be utilised to finance the purchase of machinery and equipment such as HDD machines, lorries and excavators to cater for the on-going and future projects to be secured as part of its future growth plans.

It said it will also acquire a maxi rig HDD machine which will enable the group to venture to subsea HDD works, expanding its existing suite of underground utilities engineering solutions.

The remaining gross proceeds have been earmarked for general working capital as well as estimated listing expenses in relation to the IPO.

“The proceeds from the IPO will play a crucial role in fuelling our expansion efforts, enabling us to enhance and extend our services to both our current and prospective customers across Malaysia and Singapore,” said UUE managing director Datuk Kenny Ting.

M&A Securities is the adviser, sponsor, underwriter and placement agent for this IPO exercise.