Immersive entertainment group Neon is considering an initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore that may raise as much as S$500 million (US$389 million or RM1.61 billion), according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The company, which is backed by Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd’s 65 Equity Partners, has interviewed financial advisers for a potential offering that could take place as soon as next year, the people said, asking not to be identified as the process is private. A first-time share sale may raise S$400 million to S$500 million, the people said.

Deliberations are ongoing, and details such as the size and timing could change, the people said.

Phone calls and emails to Neon’s investors relations and press department went unanswered, and the company didn’t respond to attempts to reach it via LinkedIn.

Only US$19.5 million has been raised in IPOs in Singapore this year, in a solitary first-time listing by Singapore Institute of Advanced Medicine Holdings Pte Ltd, set for the lowest amount in decades. SCI Ecommerce Pte Ltd is also planning to list on the domestic bourse next year, Bloomberg News reported this month. Japan’s Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp is considering listing a global data centre real estate investment trust in Singapore, according to people familiar with the matter.

Neon produces immersive experiences with franchises including Marvel’s Avengers, Jurassic Park and The Hunger Games, according to its website. It also partners with the governments of Peru and Egypt on exhibitions of historical sites. 

65 Equity Partners invested S$150 million in Neon in October 2022 after the company, which was called Cityneon Holdings Pte Ltd at the time, concluded a private funding round that raised S$235 million. Investors included Pavilion Capital, Temasek’s Seatown Holdings International unit and an investment arm of Singapore’s Economic Development Board. Neon also counts China’s Citic Capital and Qatar’s Doha Venture Capital among its backers. Last year, Neon had been considering raising about US$200 million in fresh capital to help expand, Bloomberg News reported.

Neon listed in Singapore in 2005, raising about S$5.3 million. A consortium led by entrepreneur Johnson Ko and Cityneon’s then executive chairman Ron Tan took the firm private in a S$318 million deal in February 2019. 

  - Bloomberg