Technology company Audiowav Media Inc. will proceed with a plan to raise up to P2.66 billion from an initial public offering in the first quarter of 2017, sources said Tuesday.
Sources said the company expected to secure regulatory approval for the maiden offering within the next two weeks.
The company initially planned to conduct an IPO in November last year, but the plan was delayed after it failed to obtain approval from regulators. This forced the company to move the IPO schedule in the first three months of 2017.
Audiowav plans to sell up to 900 million primary common shares at an offer price of P1.77 to P2.96 per share. The offer shares represent 23 percent of the company’s total authorized capital stock after the IPO.
The company tapped SB Capital Investments Corp. as the sole issue manager and book runner for the IPO. At least 30 percent of the offer shares will be sold to trading participants while the remaining 70 percent will be distributed by SB Capital to clients.
Audiowav said it intended to use majority of the proceeds from the IPO to fund expansion in the evolving markets in Asia such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and China.
Audiowav, established in 2003 by businessman Carlos Hinolan, is a technology firm that developed its own proprietary platform consisting of internally-developed software programs and hardware devices designed to enable businesses to create their own customized branding environment.
Its pioneering status in providing sensory branding solutions enabled it to team up with a diverse range of clients such as the largest fast-food chains and restaurants, a leading drugstore chain, the largest convenience stores, major shopping malls, hotels/hospitality/leisure businesses, health and wellness centers, car dealerships, department stores, hypermarkets and supermarkets, real estate firms and other retail establishments.
The service gives businesses the capability to seamlessly and simultaneously synchronize the music, scent and/or signages, of multiple establishments. As of end June 2016, the company was servicing 2,420 establishments nationwide, mostly on an exclusive basis.
Other IPOs in the pipeline in the first quarter of the year are Wilcon Depot Inc. and Xeleb Technologies Inc.