Water concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. is seeking to raise nearly P50 billion from its planned initial public offering.
Maynilad said in a disclosure to the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. its board approved the sale of up to 2.45 billion common shares at an offer price of up to P20 apiece.
Under the plan, Maynilad will sell 1.811 billion common shares with an over-allotment option for another 266.307 million common shares and upsize option of 379,286 million common shares.
Assuming all the firm offer, over-allotment shares and upsize option shares are sold at P20 per share, Maynilad could raise P49.1 billion in proceeds.
Maynilad said it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange an application for the planned maiden share offering.
Maynilad president and chief executive Ramoncito Fernadez said the company plans to conduct the IPO over the next two quarters.
The company hired foreign banks UBS, Morgan Stantley and HSBC and local bank BPI Capital to help the company prepare for the maiden share offering.
Fernandez said they were looking at 2025 for the IPO schedule as 2026 could already be “too tight”. The company is required to list its shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange not later than January 2027.
“The company is preparing for that it can be push-button ready within this year depending on factors like macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions,” Fernandez said.
“If we push it next year, we might be running out of options. It should be the next two quarters,” he said.
Companies planning to list on the exchange are required to have a public float of not less than 20 percent.
Proceeds from the fund-raising activity will be used to finance its capital expenditures
Maynilad earlier committed to spending P163 billion from 2023 to 2027. Of the amount, around P101 billion will be allotted for water projects while the rest will be for wastewater projects.
Maynilad is majority owned by infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. Other shareholders are Japan’s Marubeni Corp. and DMCI Holdings Inc.
Fernandez earlier said the company would push for equal dilution of all existing shareholders.
Maynilad is the concessionaire of the government in providing water services in the west zone of Metro Manila.