Big C Supercenter Plc has picked Bank of America and UBS Group to advise on an initial public offering expected to be worth at least 30 billion baht, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The supermarket and convenience store chain, owned by the SET-listed trading company Berli Jucker Plc, has also chosen four local banks for the potential share sale on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, they added.
The IPO could take place as soon as this year, the sources said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
Deliberations are ongoing and details of the IPO including the size, timing and banks involved could still change, the people said. Representatives for Bank of America, Berli Jucker and UBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The planned offering by Big C would be the biggest in the country since Thai Life Insurance Plc raised nearly 35 billion baht in a listing last July, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The deal would also boost the country’s IPO market, which hosted about 135 billion baht worth of deals last year, roughly flat compared to 2021.
Founded by Central Group in 1993, Big C was listed on the SET in 2012 and taken private in 2017 when it was acquired by Berli Jucker. The latter is among the companies controlled by billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, who has a net worth of $16.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Big C operates 1,819 stores including convenience stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, according to the latest investor presentation by Berli Jucker.
In August, Big C launched an official storefront and digital shopping cart on the Line social media app for all its hypermarkets and supermarkets.