Balai ni Fruitas Inc., a company led by businessman Lester Yu that operates a chain of bakeries and juice shops, priced its initial public offering at P0.70 per share, lower than the original maximum price of P0.75 each.
The price will bring Balai’s equity deal to P288.75 million.
The company will sell 412.5 million shares, consisting of 325 million in primary shares, 50 million in secondary shares and 37.5 million in over-allotment shares.
It scheduled the IPO from June 17 to June 23. The shares will start trading on the small, medium and emerging board of the Philippine Stock Exchange under the symbol “BALAI” on June 30.
The company said it would use the proceeds from the IPO to fund store network expansion, commissary setup and introduction of new concepts and potential acquisitions.
Balai said that from 69 stores, it was planning to have 120 stores by 2023. Most of the new stores will be established in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
Balai is a wholly-owned subsidiary of listed food and beverage kiosk operator Fruitas Holdings controlled by Yu. It has three active brands including Buko Ni Fruitas , Fruitas House of Desserts and Balai Pandesal.
The company appointed First Metro Investment Corp. as the sole issue manager, bookrunner and underwriter for the offer. Jenniffer B. Austria
Balai ni Fruitas will be the 7th company to list on the local bourse this year. Other firms that conducted IPOs in 2022 were Haus Talk Inc., Figaro Coffee Group Inc., Citicore REIT Inc., Bank of Commerce, Raslag Corp. and Vista REIT Inc. which would also be listed today.
North Star Meat Merchants Inc., which secured regulatory approvals for its IPO, deferred last week its maiden share offering amid market volatility.
