The initial public offering (IPO) of hotel and restaurant operator FDC International Hotels Corp (FDC, 雲品國際) has been 240 times oversubscribed, meaning only 2.5 percent of investors would get shares, the underwriter said yesterday.
The operator of the five-star Fleur de Chine hotel near Sun Moon Lake and banquet facility Gala de Chine in New Taipei City is to have NT$6.7 billion (US$210 million) of paid-in capital when it lists on the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Wednesday, underwriter Cathay Securities Co (國泰證券) said.
FDC set its share price at NT$50, meaning the hotelier would raise NT$253 million in new capital through the issuance of 5.06 million new common shares, the brokerage said.
That suggests a premium of 28.4 percent based on yesterday’s closing price of NT$64.20 on the Emerging Stock Market, which was down 0.85 percent from Wednesday, market data showed.
The brokerage attributed the oversubscription to the fact that the hotel chain owns its own real estate, the value of which has soared to between NT$7 billion and NT$8 billion.
FDC owns the property that houses the Fleur de Chine in Nantou County and its spinoff L’Hotel de Chine Group (雲朗觀光), the owner of the Palais de Chine, Maison de Chine, Chateau de Chine and Chinatrust Hotel.
FDC chairman Emile Sheng (盛治仁) told an investors’ conference earlier this month that the two hotel chains could be consolidated, if it is necessary to strengthen their operations.
The occupancy rate at FDC’s hotels was about 76 percent last quarter, with daily room rates averaging NT$8,045, the hotelier said.
Revenue in the first three quarters totaled NT$956 million, an increase of 10.31 percent from the previous year, bucking a slowdown in the tourism industry, FDC said.
The hotelier expects sales to pick up further this quarter, driven by the high season for corporate and family banquets to celebrate Christmas and New Year, FDC said.
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