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FOR its
initial public offering (IPO), San Miguel Brewery Inc.
will sell its shares to local and foreign investors at
P8 each.
The
country’s oldest and most popular beer maker will sell
770.524 million shares at the lower end of a new-price
range to attract more buyers in the light of the current
aversion by investors toward equities markets worldwide.
The
company, a subsidiary of food and beverage giant San
Miguel Corp. (SMC), is the second company to float its
stocks in an initial share sale after Pepsi-Cola
Products Philippines Inc.
Of the
total shares, SMB Inc. said 539.367 million shares have
been sold to the international market and 231.157
million shares are to be sold to the domestic market
starting today until May 6. Listing and trading of the
shares will be on May 12.
“The
international book was oversubscribed. Parent firm SMC,
which is a selling shareholder, has granted the
underwriters the right to purchase up to 115.578 million
additional shares to cover over-allotments, if any,” SMB
Inc. said in a statement over the weekend.
At the
final price of P8, SMB Inc. and SMC expect to raise P6.2
billion from the IPO. The brewery said its portion of
the proceeds would fund its P450-million capital
expenditure this year, which include operations
improvement; replacement and maintenance; and expansion
and diversification.
Parent
SMC, on the other hand, will use its money from the sale
to pay debts.
“We are
very confident that our IPO would be successful because
the company’s fundamentals are very solid and it is
world-class. Having said that, it can withstand any
market condition,” said SMC president Ramon S. Ang in a
previous interview.
The IPO
entourage went to
Hong Kong,
Singapore
and London to woo investors to the IPO. CitiGroup Global
Markets Ltd. and ATR KimEng act as joint global
coordinators, joint bookrunners and joint lead managers
for the offering.
BDO
Capital and Investment Corp. and ATR Kimeng Capital
Partners INC, meanwhile, will handle the domestic sale.
SMB
reported a net income of P2.5 billion during the first
quarter of the year, up from P1.8 billion a year
earlier. Net sales grew to P12.3 billion from P10.8
billion, due primarily to an 18-percent rise in sales
volume. Sales volumes reached 47 million cases in the
first three months of 2008.
After
the SMB share sale, SMC would list its packaging unit in
2009.
On top
of the two listings is a consolidation of all SMC’s food
and beverage units under San Miguel Pure Foods Co. Inc.
whose shares are also traded on the stock exchange.
SMC is
reshaping its portfolio to include new businesses that
will give them higher margin growth in the foreseeable
future. |
