West Zone water provider Maynilad Water Services Inc. has begun its initial public offering (IPO) following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval to sell shares to the public. The offer period, which started Thursday, runs until 29 October, with the company expected to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on 7 November under the ticker MYNLD.
The IPO could raise as much as ₱34 billion, making it the country’s second-largest share sale to date and only the second IPO this year, a notable move amid volatile market conditions. Maynilad set its offer price at ₱15 per share.
BPI Capital Corp. leads the domestic underwriting, while HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and UBS handle international placements. The International Finance Corp. and the Asian Development Bank are lead cornerstone investors, joined by both local and foreign institutional investors such as BDO Capital, BPI Asset Management, Metrobank Trust, Security Bank Trust, abrdn Malaysia, and Maybank Asset Management Singapore, among others.
Maynilad plans to sell 1.66 billion common shares to the public and 24.9 million primary shares to First Pacific Co. Ltd., with an over allotment option of 249 million shares and a possible upsize of 354.7 million secondary shares from shareholder Maynilad Water Holding Co. Inc.
Proceeds will fund the company’s capital expenditures and general corporate purposes, though Maynilad said it will not receive proceeds from the shareholder’s secondary share sale if the upsize option is exercised.
The IPO marks a major milestone for Maynilad and is expected to test investor appetite in one of the year’s quietest equity markets.
