7-Eleven Malaysia prices institutional investors shares in $226 mln IPO - IFR

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Reuters) - 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd is expected to price at 1.38 ringgit (43 U.S. cents) a share the tranche it will sell to cornerstone investors in an initial public offering that is likely to raise $226 million, IFR reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the deal.

The convenience store operator, controlled by billionaire Vincent Tan, is offering up to 530.33 million shares in the IPO, with 490.78 million allocated for institutional investors and the remainder to individuals, according to a draft prospectus released in January.

Around 10 cornerstone investors are likely to sign up for the IPO, IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, quoted the sources as saying. The IPO price for other investors has yet to be set.

Officials at 7-Eleven Malaysia were not immediately available to comment.

At 1.38 ringgit per share, the selling price translates into a forward price to earnings multiple of 19.5 times. Book building is expected to start in the first week of May, a person with knowledge of the deal told Reuters on Thursday.

The IPO will fund the company's expansion plans. Maybank and UBS are the joint global co-ordinators and are the joint bookrunners along with CLSA, CIMB and Kenanga.

(Reporting By S.Anuradha of IFR and Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Miral Fahmy)