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To: TobagoJack who wrote (60871)	3/10/2005 8:37:40 PM
From: Taikun	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Interesting IPO. Ripplewood plans 362m euro Japan fund IPO Chawadee Nualkhair March 10, 2005 United States private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings plans a global share offering of its Japan fund worth up to 362.3 million euros (HK$3.68 billion), enabling investors to trade their stakes in the fund freely. The offering of 12.5 million shares in Belgium alleviates investor pressure on Ripplewood, which announced the plan on Wednesday, to sell investments made through its Japan buyout fund within a certain period. It also comes ahead of planned tax changes next month that would include the imposition of a withholding tax on capital gains reaped by foreign investors. ``I think it's smart. They keep management control, they sell the investment,'' UBS credit research director Graeme Knowd said in Tokyo. ``Investors who don't want to take exposure to weak single stock names get someone else doing it who has expertise.'' Ripplewood plans to list its US$1.2 billion (HK$9.36 billion) RHJ Industrial Partners fund by combining some of its commitments and current portfolio companies into its holding company, RHJ International, based in Belgium. The offering, to be listed on Euronext Brussels bourse under the symbol RHJI, will be priced at 17.25-19.25 euros, with the final offer price to be set around March 23, RHJ said. RHJ International expects to raise 142.5 million euros through its international offering, with an additional 219.8 million to be raised through new ordinary shares sold in a private placement to be completed alongside the international offering. The new ordinary shares would be at the same price as the international offering, RHJ added. Of the 12.5 million ordinary shares being sold in the international offering, up to 7.81 million are new shares to be issued by RHJ International and up to 4.69 million are being offered by existing shareholders. Up to 1.875 million additional ordinary shares will be purchased by the managers of the international offering to cover any over-allotments. The listing plans come at a time when investment funds are increasingly launching global IPOs. According to data firm Dealogic, 53 funds launched IPOs worth a record US$5.14 billion last year, against 32 issues worth US$3.3 billion in 2003. Ripplewood, which became the first foreign buyer of a Japanese bank in 1999, made the decision to reorganise the assets and activities of the fund in order to focus on the long-term operating performance of its businesses. Private equity firms, which raise money for funds from outside investors, typically buy businesses with a view to selling them at a profit after several years of restructuring. Ripplewood founder Tim Collins would become chief executive of RHJ International, which chose to list its ordinary shares initially in Belgium due to its internationally recognised stock exchange and central European location. The RHJ Industrial Partners fund, which a source said is currently half-invested, holds such Japanese investments as the Seagaia resort complex, auto parts makers Niles and Asahi Tech, music company Nippon Columbia and audio systems maker, D&M Holdings. Some of the fund's commitments would be cancelled and RHJ may relist in Japan in the future, a source at an institutional investor said. Ripplewood made its name in Japan in 1999 when it purchased the failed Long-Term Credit Bank and relaunched it as Shinsei Bank in 2000, floating it in a US$2.4 billion initial public offering that snared millions of dollars for it and investors last year. It is also behind the May divestment of Japan Telecom to Softbank. REUTERS Copyright 2005, The Standard, Sing Tao Newspaper Group and Global China Group. All rights reserved. No content may be redistributed or republished, either eletronically or in print, without express written consent of The Standard. thestandard.com.hk