Eastroc Beverage to price Hong Kong listing at top of range, sources say

By Yantoultra Ngui and Scott Murdoch

SINGAPORE/SYDNEY, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Energy drink maker Eastroc Beverage is set to price its Hong Kong listing at the top of its offer range, two people with knowledge of the matter said, raising as much as HK$10.14 billion ($1.3 billion) from the share sale.

Eastroc 605499.SS, already listed in Shanghai, had offered 40.9 million H shares at up to HK$248 each, valuing the company at about HK$166.4 billion ($21.3 billion).

Eastroc did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Thursday.

The price is expected to be determined on Friday and the final offer price will be announced on February 2. The shares will make their debut on the Hong Kong bourse on February 3, according to the company's previous regulatory filing.

Eastroc will use the proceeds to expand production capacity, upgrade its supply chain and support brand-building, overseas expansion and potential acquisitions, the filing said.

Cornerstone investors backing the deal include Qatar Investment Authority, Temasek Holdings TEM.UL, BlackRock BLK.N, Tencent 0700.HK and others, collectively committing about $640 million, according to the prospectus.

Founded in Shenzhen in 1994, Eastroc manufactures and distributes beverages in China and has since 2023 exported its products to overseas markets, including some countries in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam and Malaysia.

Huatai International, Morgan Stanley MS.N and UBS UBSG.S are the sponsors of the offering.

($1 = 7.8053 Hong Kong dollars)