After months of rumors, PT Bali Bintang Sejahtera, which owns the club, held a briefing last week and announced its intention to go public, making it the first ever sports team in Indonesian history to make its shares available on the IDX.

Bali Bintang has appointed securities firms PT Buana Capital Sekuritas and PT Kresna Sekuritas as its underwriters for the initial public offering (IPO) that would make it the first publicly listed soccer management company in Southeast Asia.

Kresna Sekuritas president director Octavianus Budianto said the company had set its IPO price range at Rp 155 (1 US cent) to Rp 175 per share and planned to release 2 billion shares to the public, the equivalent of 33.33 percent of its enlarged shares. This means the firm expects to raise Rp 350 billion in fresh funds from the IPO.

According to its prospectus, the company will use 19.1 percent of the funds from the IPO for capital expenditure, such as developing the club’s Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Gianyar, as well as a soccer academy. The capex will also be used to finance the expansion of the Bali United official store and mobile app development.

The firm, which will list its shares on the IDX on May 22, will also use 20.4 percent of the funds raised to strengthen its subsidiaries’ capital, while 60.5 percent will be used to strengthen Bali Bintang Sejahtera’s capital structure.

Bali Bintang’s CEO Yabes Tanuri said he hoped the company’s intention to go public would make the club more professional. “Our decision to go public can hopefully make Bali United more transparent so that our fans can get to know us better,” he said in a statement obtained by The Jakarta Post last week.

As of last year, the company’s assets stood at Rp 146.76 billion and its liabilities stood at Rp 28.39 billion.

Its revenue jumped 119.42 percent year-on-year (yoy) in 2018 to Rp 115.2 billion while its profit jumped 885.89 percent yoy to Rp 4.27 billion thanks to increased earnings from sponsorship following Bali United’s success in 2017 as the runner-up of the 2017 Liga 1 championship, as well as its debut in the 2018 Asian Football Confederation Cup.

Octavianus, however, said the company’s revenue did not solely come from sponsorship, ticket and merchandise sales but also from its other businesses such as the sports agency, cafe and restaurant, streaming service and radio station, as well as an e-sport team.

He said he was confident that the IPO would garner attention from the public as most people in the country were loyal to the sport.

“Many soccer fans willingly stand in line for hours just to watch their favorite team play so I’m sure many will be interested in buying the company’s shares,” he told the Post on Monday.

Moreover, he said, Bali United would also be the first soccer team in Southeast Asia to go public and the second in Asia after Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC in 2015.

This, Octavianus said, would present a huge opportunity for Bali United.

He was also confident about the company’s performance in the years to come as Bali United catapulted itself to fame just five years after it was established because of its stellar player lineup, including the likes of Irfan Bachdim, Stefano Lilipaly and Fadil Sausu, as well as its professional management.

Although Bali United’s IPO seems to be of interest for investors, capital market expert from the University of Indonesia Budy Frensidy said the company’s stock might not be ideal for those who seek long-term gains.

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