Breaking the large IPO curse

MANY mega initial public offerings (IPOs) on Bursa Malaysia have failed to perform in recent years, with share prices remaining under water since their listing, leaving many investors weary of large IPOs.

99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd, listed at a price-to-earnings (PE) multiple of 35 times, initially seemed likely to fall into this group, especially given the lacklustre uptake of the IPO – oversubscribed by only 3.04 times.