Wistron Corp (緯創), a local maker of laptop computers for Acer Inc (宏碁), will extend the deadline of a planned stock sale after losing almost a quarter of its market value since announcing the fund-raising.
The nation’s financial regulator approved a three-month extension to June 30, Hsinchu-based Wistron said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Friday. Wistron shares have fallen 24 percent since its announcement in December last year.
Conventional laptops are losing appeal to new devices such as handhelds with touch screens, analysts including Dean Lim at Mirae Asset Securities said. Companies like Acer, the world’s second--largest maker of PCs, may need to focus more on developing tablet models to boost profit.
“Sentiment isn’t very positive on laptop stocks lately,” said Bevan Yeh (葉獻文), who doesn’t own Wistron shares in the NT$7 -billion (US$240 million) fund he helps manage at Prudential Financial Securities Investment Trust Enterprise (保德信投信).
“It’s good to extend the fund-raising” to give the company’s share price a chance to move higher, Yeh said.
Wistron aims to raise NT$3.3 billion selling up to 60 million new shares in a secondary public offering and as much as US$292.5 million selling Global Depositary Receipts (GDR) equivalent to no more than 150 million new shares, according to a Dec. 1 statement. It didn’t say where the GDRs will be traded.
Proceeds from the sales will go to repay bank loans, purchase raw materials overseas and strengthen Wistron’s financial structure, according to the Dec. 1 statement.
Shares of the manufacturer, spun off from Acer in 2003, climbed 0.9 percent to NT$47 on Friday before it announced the extension. The stock trades at 7.2 times its projected earnings for this year, compared with 13 times for the benchmark TAIEX. Wistron has fallen 21 percent this year against a 3 percent slide by the benchmark index.
Acer, whose stock slumped 37 percent this year, said this week chief executive Gianfranco Lanci quit after clashing with board members over strategy.
Wistron also provides manufacturing services for companies other than Acer, building mainly laptop and notebook computers.
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