(From left) Sorento Capital Bhd executive directors Lee Chee Keong and Jayden Loo Jing Kai, and managing director Loo Chai Lai, with Alliance Islamic Bank Bhd chief executive officer Rizal IL-Ehzan Fadil Azim, Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd group chief corporate banking and capital markets officer Teoh Chu Lin, as well as Alliance Islamic Bank head/senior vice president of coverage and origination for Islamic capital markets Lim Shueh Li.

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 3): Sorento Capital Bhd has entered into an underwriting agreement with Alliance Islamic Bank Bhd as part of its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia.

Sorento, a bathroom and kitchen sanitary ware solution provider, is offering 229 million shares in its IPO, comprising 155 million new shares and 74 million existing shares offered for sale by existing Sorento shareholders.

Under the underwriting agreement, Alliance Islamic Bank will underwrite a total of 59 million new shares. It is also the principal adviser, sponsor and placement agent for the IPO.

The underwriting involves the 43 million shares to be made available to the Malaysian public, and 16 million shares allocated for eligible directors and employees via pink form allocations.

Of the new shares, the remainder of 96 million shares will be placed to identified Bumiputera investors approved by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti).

Of the 74 million existing shares to be placed via an offer for sale, 62.5 million shares will be made available to selected investors, while the remaining 11.5 million IPO shares are reserved for application by Bumiputera investors approved by the Miti.

For the financial year ended June 30, 2023 (FY2023), Sorento's net profit jumped 95.65% to RM24.93 million from RM12.74 million a year earlier, as revenue grew 23.84% to RM112.31 million from RM90.69 million for FY2022.

The proceeds raised from the sale of 155 million new shares will be earmarked for the purchase of inventory, branding and promotional marketing, as well as expansion of the company's dealer network and distribution reach, Sorento said.

The offer price is not known yet.