Boutique brewer Moa in $15m pre-Christmas IPO
"Have a beer and be happy."
Featured comment(BusinessDesk) Beer enthusiasts will get a new opportunity to "drink the profits" by subscribing for shares in the Moa Group, which is planning a $15 million NZX float by the end of the month.
Headquartered in Auckland but brewing in Marlborough since 2004, the award-winning brewery is allied to the Business Bakery, a venture capital investor involving Geoff Ross, a serial entrepreneur who launched the 42 Below vodka brand, sold to Bacardi for $138 million, and Ecoya [NZX:ECO], which listed on the NZX in May 2010.
On July 6, NBR reported Moa was seeking $20 million from investment banks.
The Moa announcement is the first of up to three rumoured pre-Christmas IPOs for the NZX.
Companies Office records show the largest shareholder in Moa is Pioneer Capital, a venture capital fund that has attracted government support through its New Zealand Venture Investment Fund, which holds 44.5%.
The Business Bakery is recorded as holding a further 36.4% and the Allan Scott winemaking company holds a further 14.1%. The three major shareholders own some 95% of the company.
Proceeds of the proposed float will be used to build a larger brewery, along with increasing working capital and funds for marketing.
Expressions of interest are being sought through a website, www.ownabrewery.co.nz, until Tuesday, October 9, with retail, institutional and existing shareholders all eligible to participate. No money is yet sought.
The site does not provide any financials.
The IPO is subject to acceptance of its shares for listing by NZX and there will be a small provision for over-subscription.
Joint lead managers appointed for the offer are Craigs Investment Partners and Forsyth Barr.
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Comments and questions17
And let me guess...it burns cash by the bucketload? And Geoff Ross will be asking retail munters to buy it at a price which is about triple what has been invested so far. Instos will run a mile...
Correct.. and the investment banks have already said NO. Hence the IPO! So who's going to take out the public ? !! Different maket from when Baccardi took out 42 Below.
If it's a small company why don't they just keep it small, private and profitable? Trying to make a producer of expensive (ie. poncy) beer larger in an economy as unsound and fragile as NZ's sounds highly risky and for that reason I'm out.
Have a beer and be happy.
yes, a quick look on the Moa website confesses their brewing methods are "not very economical", although the massive price of the finished item may make up for that.
Aren't Craigs and Forbar investment banks?
yep but they are just taking a cut of fees, not putting their $ where their mouths are.
Maybe just putting their mouths where the $ are :)
Aren't Forbar and Craigs putting their own clients money into it? If they really thought it was such a terrible investment why would they bother bringing it to market? Would they risk their reputations?
Have you been asleep for the past decade ?
Forbar and Craigs make most of their dough from fees. If it was from investing and speculating it's doubtful they'd still be around.
I would invest a modest amount - on the condition that there is an annual/free booze up.
I mean what good is "owning a brewery" if you can't occasionally jump into the Vat.
Instos have said no. Correct.
But only 5% of them outperform the market average. Scientifically proven. But they are good at outperforming each other in negative territory.
Keep an open mind on the Moa.
they could be the next Charlie's
High priced bottlers & marketers of a simple commodity like Charlies will find it difficult to survive the purging of the great world wide debt bubble that is taking place. The crisis that is affecting Europe and the US hasn't hit NZ yet. It's possible that supermarket brands will ultimately win at the expense of the pricier, high margin brands.
42 below is the same price in the shops as finlandia and about 30% more than plain smirnoff. Charlies was also roughly comparable price wise to arano and other juices.
moa is at least 300% more expensive than typical mainstream beer (heineken, stella etc). It is a boutique beer with a small market. Those of my mates who are big craft beer drinkers and like to pay $6-$12/bottle for beer don't stick to one variety either, their fridges usually have 20-30 types of beer in them so they are not loyal to one brand.
Moa may have had a bit of success cajoling importers of dads wine to take some beer with their order (or else) but this is hardly going to be a mainstream brand that a big liquor company can leverage.
I predict tears for the poor clients that get this chucked in their managed portfolios.
The beer market is pretty crowded. Is there really any room for another one, let alone another one named after a native bird (Tui, Kiwi..) ?