KUALA LUMPUR: Private equity firm Creador Funds, via Hyptis Ltd has placed out a block of shares consisting of 158.5 million shares it owns in MR DIY Group (M) Bhd through a secondary placement with an offer price between RM3.60 and RM3.68 per share.

       This is the first share placement by Creador Funds after MR DIY’s initial public offering (IPO) in October last year.

       According to a source, the share placement is so that the company can meet the MSCI Index free float requirements for an MSCI inclusion.

       Based on a term sheet seen by StarBiz, the offer price represents a 3.2% to 5.3% discount to its last close at RM3.80 on Aug 24, which is more than double its IPO price of RM1.60 per share.

       Yesterday, the counter closed at RM3.70.

       The offer size is worth US$135mil (RM568mil), with an upsize option through an accelerated bookbuilding exercise done yesterday.

       Prior to the share placement, Hyptis Ltd owned 15.29% stake in MR DIY, the home improvement retailer.

       After the shares placement, it is expected to own stake of 11.5% as the company sees strong growth prospects over the next five years.

       Before MR DIY’s listing last year, Hyptis Ltd owned about 18% stake which has since diluted as it offered shares for sale.

       It is important to note that Hyptis agreed that it would not offer its stake for sale for a period of six months from the date of listing of MY DIY, according to the company’s IPO prospectus.

       However, the six-month period has now lapsed as the company’s shares were floated on Oct 26 last year.

       Notably, MR DIY listed on Bursa Malaysia last year as the largest IPO in three years.

       Since its IPO, the company’s market capitalisation has more than doubled to about RM23.66bil.

       MR DIY’s net profit jumped 44.1% to RM82.13mil in the second quarter ended June 30 (Q2’21) from RM56.98mil a year ago, bolstered by higher revenue and also positive contribution from the opening of new stores.

       In the quarter, its stores expanded to 827 stores. The home improvement retailer’s revenue rose 47.1% to RM759.82mil in the quarter compared to RM516.66mil a year ago driven by higher average monthly sales per store on the back of lower sales compared to a year ago.