Malakoff said to set terms for $750 million IPO

Malakoff Bhd., the Malaysian independent power producer, set the terms for an initial public offering that could raise as much as 2.74 billion ringgit ($750 million), people with knowledge of the matter said.

The Kuala Lumpur-based company and its controlling shareholder plan to offer as many as 1.52 billion shares at 1.75 ringgit to 1.80 ringgit a piece, according to the people.

Malakoff plans to start meeting investors on Friday and price the offering April 24, they said, asking not to be named as the information is private.

At $750 million, the Malakoff IPO would be the biggest first-time share sale in the country since UMW Oil & Gas Corp Bhd. raised $902 million in October 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The offering is poised to be the second-biggest this year in Southeast Asia, where IPOs have raised $2.4 billion, the data show.

Malakoff aims to start trading on May 15, the people said. IFR reported the price range earlier Thursday, citing unidentified people.

Deal Drought

A representative for Malakoff didn’t answer a call to his mobile phone seeking comment and calls to the company’s headquarters weren’t answered.

A media official for Malakoff’s controlling shareholder, port operator MMC Corp., wasn’t immediately available to comment.

Malaysia hasn’t had an IPO of more than $100 million in almost nine months, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Health-care provider Qualitas Medical Group last month postponed its IPO, which a person with knowledge of the matter said could raise as much as $200 million.

MMC, controlled by Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, took Malakoff private in 2007 in its biggest-ever acquisition, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The company has six power plants in Malaysia with 5,346 megawatts of effective capacity and owns about 690 megawatts of net power production capacity overseas, according to its website.