SE Fruits Pulls IPO After Book Building, Investors Await Answers

SE Fruits

LAHORE: SE Fruits and Vegetable Ltd, a Sargodha-based kinnow and mango exporter, said on Tuesday it would withdraw its initial public offering application and refile with additional disclosures, leaving investors who bid for its shares in September waiting to learn what happens to their money.

The board said the new disclosures would explain how the business moved from a partnership, operating since 1998, to a public limited company incorporated this year. It described the withdrawal as a procedural step taken in the interests of transparency, regulatory compliance and investor protection, and said it had not abandoned its plans to list.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange had approved the offering in September: 30 million shares, or 32 per cent of the enlarged company, at a floor price of Rs40, to raise between Rs1.2 billion and Rs1.92 billion. The book-building portion was fully subscribed within two hours on Sept 21, drawing about Rs1.43 billion in bids against Rs900 million on offer, and struck at the floor price.

The 7.5 million-share retail tranche closed at the end of September. Business news site Mettis Global reported on Tuesday that no shares had been allotted and no refunds paid, and that retail applicants had been unable to reach the lead managers, Topline Securities and Growth Securities.

Business Recorder, citing sources, said concerns over disclosures that had not been adequately included in the offer documents had reached regulators. Nukta reported that the withdrawal followed discrepancies flagged by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. Neither the SECP nor the exchange has commented publicly.

The company’s statement does not mention refunds. Under the prospectus, according to Mettis, applicants’ money must be returned promptly if listing permission is not granted by Oct 20, unless the exchange extends that date.

The company reported revenue of Rs2.133 billion for the year to June 2026, up 24 per cent, with profit after tax of Rs303.8 million and no debt. It planned to use most of the proceeds for working capital and the rest for cold storage, processing, and offices in the UAE and Uzbekistan.

The listing had been followed as a test of whether a family-run horticulture exporter could tap the main board to fund Pakistan’s fruit exports. SE Fruits said investors should rely only on its official announcements.

Leave a Reply