The Lush Group of Companies, a food cart company offering and selling fresh fruit juices and shakes under the Fruitas brand, has tapped First Metro Investments Corp. as underwriter for a planned initial public offering this year.
First Metro head of investment banking group Jose Pacifico Marcelo said his company was mandated by the Lush Group, owned by businessman Lester Yu, to handle the maiden share offering scheduled in the first half of 2018.
Marcelo did not provide details on the offering, saying the Lush Group would file the IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission within the first quarter of the year.
Lush Group plans to use the proceeds from the planned IPO to finance the group’s expansion plans.
From one brand in 2002, the Lush Group of Companies now owns 11 that include Fruitas, Buko ni Fruitas, Juice Avenue, The Mango Farm, Black Pearl, Cocktales, Cereal Chiller, Fruitas House of Desserts, Fruitas Ice Candy and Yes-yes Yo! Frozen Yogurt.
Meanwhile, Marcelo said he expects fews IPOs tthis year. “We are not too optimistic on IPOs which is sad because these add depth to the market,” he said.
Another company planning to conduct an IPO this year is Philippine AirAsia, the local unit of Southeast Asia’s biggest budget airline.
The airline plans to raise as much as $250 million, according to BDO Capital and Investments Corp., which has been tapped to handle the deal.
But First Metro expects more companies to raise funds through the capital markets.
It said capital raising was expected to accelerate to P930 billion this year, up 29 percent from the 2017 level.
Funds to be raised at the equities market are expected to increase 79 percent to an all-time high of P250 billion, mainly because of the planned P150 billion, re-IPO of San Miguel Purefoods Co Inc.