Cut-off price of Asiatic Laboratories shares set at Tk50

The cut-off price of the shares of Asiatic Laboratories, a local drug manufacturer, was fixed at Tk50 each through the electronic subscription system (ESS) by eligible investors on Tuesday.

The general investors would be able buy the shares of the company at Tk20 as per the rule set by Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).

On the other hand, the institutional investors have to pay Tk50 for each share.

On 31 August, BSEC allowed the company to determine the cut-off price of its shares through bidding by eligible investors – a requirement for going public under the book-building method.

Only institutional investors can participate in exploring the cut-off price of the company's shares under the electronic bidding process. Besides, the cut-off price is also set based on bids submitted by investors.

The company will raise Tk95 crore from the capital market under the book building method to use the funds mainly to begin anticancer drug production.

It will use Tk58.05 crore for acquisition and installation of machinery, Tk6.26 crore for factory construction, and Tk28 crore for repayment of bank loans.

Asiatic Laboratories is engaged in the production and marketing of different types of tablets, capsules, syrups, creams, eye products, injections, and more.

At present, the company produces 6 million tablets, 5 million capsules, 2 million injections, 1.5 million tube creams, and 1.6 million bottles of syrup every year.

The company's annual revenue in fiscal 2020-21 grew to Tk145 crore from Tk119.6 crore five years ago.

Local merchant bank Shahjalal Equity Management is the issue manager and BMSL Investments is the registrar for the company's IPO.