West zone water concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. is set to push through with its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) in the coming weeks, after securing commitments from cornerstone investors who will take up over half of the offered shares.
Maynilad chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan confirmed the development on the sidelines of the Finex Annual Conference, revealing that cornerstone investors are expected to subscribe to US$500 million to US$600 million worth of shares. The IPO shares may be priced at around P15 each, though the final offer price will be set on October 20.
Vice chairman Isidro A. Consunji also affirmed the IPO plans, saying there appear to be no major hurdles to proceeding with the listing.
The IPO will run from 23 to 29 October, with a listing date on 7 November at the Philippine Stock Exchange. The offering comprises 2.29 billion shares, including 1.66 billion primary shares, 24.9 million preferential shares to First Pacific Co., and additional secondary and overallotment shares.
If fully subscribed at the maximum price of P20 per share, the offering could raise up to P45.8 billion (US$785 million). At the lower price point of P15, it would raise about P34.35 billion (US$588 million).
Cornerstone investors include the International Finance Corp. (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and 10 other local and international institutions such as the UK’s MOBILIST, abrdn Malaysia, Robeco Switzerland, and domestic banks including BPI, Metrobank, BDO Capital, and Security Bank.
IFC is investing up to US$100 million, while ADB may put in US$145 million, both at up to P15 per share.
This would mark only the second IPO in the Philippines this year amid challenging market conditions that have deterred other firms from going public.
