In the News: 2005

Lombard Lists TICON in Thai Exit

Asian Venture Capital Journal Weekly - May 23, 2005

Lombard Investments has listed TICON Property Fund on the Bangkok stock exchange. Lombard Managing Director Thomas Smith told AVCJ that the firm's Thailand Equity Fund invested $11.7 million in TICON in February 2004 through a special issue of convertible preferred shares. Trading in TICON began May 12.

Thailand's first listed property fund focusing on industrial properties, TFUND raised Baht 1.7 billion ($42.6 million) to acquire 39 factories located in various industrial estates from TICON, Smith said. TICON, which acts as property manager, acquired 33% of the offering, while the remaining shares were placed with institutional and retail investors.

TICON, a leading industrial facility outsourcing company, constructs, leases, and manages factories primarily for light industry in various corporate parks around Thailand. Currently, TICON owns and manages 183 factories in the country.

The Thailand Equity Fund is a $245 million private equity fund sponsored by San Francisco-based Lombard and the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group. In addition to the IFC, Smith noted that other investors include California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), Asian Development Bank, DEG (a member of Germany's KfW Group), the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Thailand, and 15 leading Thai banks and other institutions.