WEST ZONE water concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. has began the offer period for its initial public offering (IPO) after securing the permit to sell from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The corporate set the ultimate offer price at P15 per share, with the IPO covering 1.66 billion common shares to be sold to the general public and 24.9 million primary shares allocated to First Pacific Co. Ltd.
Based on the ultimate offer price, the IPO could raise as much as P34.3 billion in gross proceeds.
The offer period runs from Oct. 23 to 29, while the corporate’s shares are expected to be listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange’s Fundamental Board on Nov. 7 under the ticker symbol MYNLD, the corporate said in a press release on Thursday.
The offering also includes an overallotment option of as much as 249.05 million primary shares and an upsize option of as much as 354.7 million secondary shares to be offered by Maynilad Water Holding Co., Inc. (MWHCI).
“The proceeds from the offer will probably be used to fund Maynilad’s capital expenditure requirements and for general corporate purposes,” the corporate said. It added that it “won’t receive any proceeds from the sale of MWHCI’s shares within the event that the upsize option is exercised.”
BPI Capital Corp. serves because the domestic lead underwriter, while The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd., Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte., and UBS AG, Singapore Branch act as international underwriters, the corporate said.
The International Finance Corp. (IFC) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are the lead cornerstone investors, in response to Maynilad. Other domestic cornerstone investors include BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. – Trust Banking Group, and Security Bank Corp. – Trust and Asset Management Group.
Maynilad also identified international cornerstone investors comparable to abrdn Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, Maven Investment Partners Ltd. – Hong Kong Branch, Maybank Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd., Robeco Switzerland Ltd., and QRT Master Fund SPC – Torus Fund SP.
In a Viber message, AP Securities, Inc. Research Head Alfred Benjamin R. Garcia said the IPO is anticipated to attract investor interest “given its reasonable pricing and the defensive nature of Maynilad’s business.”
Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which holds a majority stake in Maynilad, is one in every of three Philippine subsidiaries of First Pacific Co. Ltd., alongside Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Useful Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., holds an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — A.G.C. Magno