Bangkok-based The Central Group is planning to raise around $2 billion in a potential IPO of its retail unit in 2020, Bloomberg News reported Sept. 11, citing people familiar with the matter.
Discussions on the proposed IPO are ongoing and details such as timing and size could still change, the news outlet said.
According to report, the plan to list Central Retail Corp. Ltd. was originally slated to take place in the last quarter of 2019 but will now be moved to 2020 to allow the Chirathivat family-controlled group to complete the restructuring involving department store operator Robinson Public Co. Ltd. before the listing.
Central Group, which operates the Central and Central Embassy malls in Thailand, previously said it would merge its retail operations in its home country, Vietnam and Italy under a single listed entity. It is reportedly conducting a tender offer for the 46% of Robinson shares it does not already own.
The proposed IPO could become Thailand's second-largest on record since BTS Rail Mass Transit Growth Infrastructure Fund raised $2.1 billion in 2013, the news agency said.
Central Group did not immediately respond to S&P Global Market Intelligence's request for comment.
