Budweiser $70.73b IPO could be Hong Kong's largest

It could easily eclipse Uber’s $63.26b listing in New York.

Budweiser Brewing Company is expected to raise as much as $70.73b in its Hong Kong float to become the largest IPO of 2019 to date, according to financial market data provider Refinitiv.

It will be the largest IPO globally since Softbank Corp’s $179.64b IPO in December 2018.

Also read: Hong Kong clinched $21.19b across 35 IPOs in Q1 2019

Refinitiv notes that it will also be the largest brewery IPO globally on record, surpassing the $22.65b IPO of Interbrew SA in 2000. Interbrew SA later became Anheuser-Busch InBev, which is Budweiser Brewing’s parent company.

It is also set to be the largest Food & Beverage IPO on record, raising more than Kraft Food Inc’s $67.95b IPO in 2001.

Hong Kong is expected to rake in $250-$300b in IPO proceeds by end-2019, according to a report by PwC, with approximately 200 companies lining up for floats in the second half of the year.