Central Pattana Plc (CPN), the SET-listed property developer under the Central Group, is cashing in on the stock market's bull run by selling new shares to raise capital.
The retail property developer will offer 130.4 million new shares through a private placement to pursue new investment opportunities.
The new shares will be sold to local and overseas institutional buyers or specific investors and the subscription is likely to be held in May, an informed source at CPN said.
The offering price will be determined later through bookbuilding.
"We believe that this is the right time to engage in a capital increase, which will allow us to capitalise on investment opportunities while maintaining financial discipline and balance-sheet strengths," said president and CEO Kobchai Chirathivat.
"As Thailand's leading retail developer, CPN has a strong track record in delivering growth and return to its shareholders" he said.
The country's largest retail developer has aggressively expanded its business domestically in recent years, with the goal of being one of the top two upscale shopping complex developers in Asia.
It has unveiled a five-year, 50-billion-baht investment plan, which calls for 15 new branches to be opened by 2017. Under the plan, the company will spend 10 billion baht annually from 2013-17 to build three new shopping complexes per year.
To pursue the ambitious goal, the company announced a plan in January this year for its first supermall in Nonthaburi. The 10-billion-baht project, to be called CentralWestGate, will be its second-largest investment after CentralWorld. The project has three phases, with the first featuring 300,000 square metres of retail space and slated to be finished in 2015.
CPN now operates 20 shopping complexes in many formats.
It is developing three new complexes, one each in Ubon Ratchathani, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai, which will open in April, November and December, respectively.
The new shares will be sold after the company completes a two-for-one stock split, Mr Kobchai said.
After the split, CPN's par value will be reduced to 50 satang from one baht each and the number of its paid-up shares will double to 4.36 billion shares.
The recapitalisation and the par split will need shareholders' approval at the April 26 meeting.
CPN booked a 200% increase in net profit to 6.19 billion baht in 2012, compared to 2.06 billion in 2011.
CPN shares closed yesterday on the SET at 97.50 baht, up 50 satang, in trade worth 171.37 million baht.