Budweiser Brewing APAC’s initial public offering in Hong Kong was the biggest IPO in Asia in September and is on course to be the second-biggest IPO in the world this year.
Back after a failed attempt in July, the deal value of this flotation is larger than the sum of the second to tenth-largest IPOs combined this month, according to data from Dealogic.
AB InBev, the parent company of Budweiser APAC, subsequently sold its Australian business to Japanese beer giant Asahi Group in July to position itself for better growth. Budweiser was then able to value itself at $50 billion after the IPO, almost half that of its first attempt in July.
After selling its Australian business, the company wrote off some of its goodwill. In the earlier prospectus, goodwill was $13.2 billion and contributed to 51% of the total assets. This time round, goodwill was only marked as $6.7 billion.
Downsizing its business has given the market some confidence about Budweiser’s future. “While the size of the company is smaller and its overall margins are lower, its growth prospects are slightly better,” said Sumeet Singh, equity analyst at Aequitas Research.
And the stock price performance reflects these attitudes. Budweiser’s share price has risen 6.5% since its IPO.
The charts below are compiled using data from Dealogic as of September 30
Top 10 IPOs across Asia in terms of deal size in September
Another eye-catching IPO in Asia last month appeared on the STAR Market in Shanghai, from cellphone manufacturer Shenzhen Transsion. Its stock price rose an impressive 64% on the company's first day of trading, September 30.
Transsion sells most of its telephones in Africa. It shipped out 124 million mobile telephones to Africa last year and holds a 49% share of the market there, according to research firm IDC.
Share price performance since debut in descending deal size
The computer and electronics sector led the way last month for Asian IPOs. The food and beverage sector, thanks to Budweiser’s IPO, jumped to second place. Total deal value in the sector increased seven times compared to the same period last year. 
