March
2000
WorldCALL Payphones Limited
Lead Manager on the First Successful Pakistani IPO in 3 Years
WorldCALL Payphones Limited is one of Pakistan's fastest growing telecom companies, with an installed base of over 5,000 smart card payphones throughout Pakistan. WorldCALL needed to raise Rs. 345 million in new equity financing to fund a major expansion plan, including 8,000 additional card phones and a proposed wireless local loop network supporting 50,000 additional phones.
Following the unsuccessful attempts of another securities firm to effect the offering and reopen the Pakistani IPO market, after a dry spell of over two years, WorldCALL appointed AKD Securities as its financial advisor to raise the necessary funds.
Realizing the
potential upside for well funded private companies in Pakistan's increasingly
deregulated telecom sector, AKD made a commitment to underwriting the offering.
After leading a Rs. 195 million pre-IPO placement with institutional investors,
AKD utilized its experienced sales force to generate demand for the IPO. As
a result of AKD's efforts, WorldCALL's Rs. 150 million IPO was heavily oversubscribed
and the company received the funds necessary for it to continue on its growth
trajectory.
