The local delivery company Line Man Wongnai has started preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) in Bangkok that could raise around 10 billion baht, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The app-based business is working with local advisers including Kasikorn Securities and Kiatnakin Phatra Securities on the potential first-time share sale, the sources said.
The company, backed by the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, is also interviewing international banks to help arrange the offering, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the process is private. A listing could happen as soon as next year, they said.
Deliberations are ongoing and details of the IPO including size and timeline could still change, the people said. A representative for Phatra Securities declined to comment, while representatives for Kasikorn Securities and Line Man Wongnai did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The preparations by Line Man Wongnai come after two of the country’s biggest IPO candidates called off their plans. Siam Cement Plc scrapped the proposed share sale of its chemical unit that could have raised as much as 100 billion baht. Big C Retail Corp, controlled by the SET-listed trading company Berli Jucker Plc, also postponed its plan to raise about 35 billion baht.
Line Man Wongnai traces its roots back to 2010 when Chulalongkorn University engineering graduates founded Wongnai, an online restaurant review database. In 2020, Wongnai merged with Line Man, the local delivery service operated by Line, the country’s most popular messaging app.
The company competes with Grab and the Robinhood app on food delivery services. It also offers business solutions for shops and restaurants.
The company last year raised $265 million in a series B funding round led by GIC and Line, propelling its valuation to more than $1 billion. It also counts BRV Capital, PTT Oil & Retail Business Plc, Bualuang Ventures and Taiwan Mobile Co among its backers.
Line Man Wongnai this year acquired FoodStory, another Thai startup that specialises in restaurant point-of-sale systems. It is also in the process of acquiring a majority stake in Rabbit Line Pay Co to expand in the e-payments business.
Line Man Wongnai aims to achieve a valuation of over $10 billion, co-founder and CEO Yod Chinsupakul, told the Bangkok Post last year.