San Miguel secures regulatory nod for P20-B preferred shares offering

SAN MIGUEL CORP. has obtained regulatory approval to issue P20-billion preferred shares under a shelf registration program.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission said it accepted the registration statement of San Miguel to offer up to 533.33 million preferred shares in a three-year period.

From the allocation, San Miguel will initially offer 133.33 million Series 2 preferred shares, which will have an oversubscription option of 133.33 million shares, priced at a maximum of P75 each.

The offer is expected to generate P19.89 billion in net proceeds, which the company will use to support infrastructure projects such as the P734-billion Bulacan airport and the P62.7-billion Metro Rail Transit Line 7. It will also be used for general corporate purposes.

San Miguel filed its application for the shelf registration of up to P40-billion preferred shares in August, where P20-billion shares make up the first tranche.

It tapped BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., Philippine Commercial Capital Inc., PNB Capital and Investment Corp., RCBC Capital Corp., and SB Capital Investment Corp. as joint issue managers, lead underwriters, and bookrunners for the offering.

In the first semester of 2020, the company booked an attributable net loss of P7.59 billion, reversing its attributable net income of P13.23 billion the same period last year, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic to its fuel and beer businesses.

San Miguel shares closed at P98.90 apiece on Wednesday, up 30 centavos or 0.30% from the last session. — Denise A. Valdez