MAYNILADWATER.COM.PH

Philippine water utility Maynilad Water Services, Inc. kicked off the offer period on Thursday for its initial public offering worth up to P34.3 billion ($590 million) after securing regulatory approval, with shares priced at P15 each.

Maynilad, the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines, said in a statement on Thursday that the offer runs until Oct. 29, ahead of a planned listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange on Nov. 7.

The IPO is set to be the country’s biggest IPO this year and the largest since Monde Nissin’s record IPO that raised $1 billion in 2021.

Maynilad is offering 1.66 billion common shares and 24.9 million primary shares to First Pacific Co Ltd, with an overallotment option of up to 249 million shares and an upsize option of 354.7 million secondary shares, the company said.

At the final price, the IPO could raise as much as P34.3 billion, valuing the company at about P151 billion if all options are exercised.

Proceeds will fund capital expenditure and general corporate purposes, the company said.

International Finance Corp and Asian Development Bank are lead cornerstone investors, alongside domestic and international institutions including BDO Capital, BPI Asset Management, abrdn Malaysia and Maybank Asset Management Singapore, the statement showed.

The IPO is being arranged by BPI Capital as domestic lead underwriter, with HSBC, Morgan Stanley and UBS as joint global coordinators, according to the statement.

The announcement confirms a Reuters report earlier in October that cornerstone investors would take a large portion of the IPO. — Reuters

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR