Shares of LG.Philips LCD Co, the world's largest liquid-crystal display maker, had their biggest gain in 16 weeks after US$2 billion of the company's stock was sold at a lower discount than one of its rivals.
LG.Philips rose 5.6 percent in Seoul after selling US$1.5 billion in American depositary receipts (ADRs) without offering any discount and the remaining shares at a 0.7 percent discount in South Korea.
AU Optronics Corp (
The Hsinchu, Taiwan-based company sold the stock at a 1.9 percent discount.
LG.Philips capitalized on surging demand for Korean equities and a recovery in the US$35 billion LCD market to complete Asia's third-biggest stock offering outside Japan this year.
LG.Philips and AU Optronics are selling shares to fund expansion as prices of displays used in flat-screen televisions and computers are forecast to rise this quarter.
"It's positive in the sense that the funding was successful and went according to plan," said Michael Min, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities Co in Seoul.
"This should have a positive influence on the stock for the short-term," he said.
The completion of the sale also alleviates concern about an overhang, or the possibility of a block of securities large enough to push prices down if released into the market, ahead of the sale, Min said.
"There's no longer uncertainty about an overhang, which is good," Min said.
RSS