The stock price of Top Line Business Development Corp. closed 3.23 percent lower on its market debut Tuesday even as the index rebounded strongly from the previous day’s bloodbath.
Top Line, the first company to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) this year, closed at P0.30 apiece, down from its listing price of P0.31.
Top Line said the IPO received strong market interest from both local and foreign institutional investors as well as retail investors, which enabled the company to raise P732.6 million.
“While we acknowledge broader market challenges affecting investor sentiment both locally and globally, we are glad for our IPO’s oversubscription, receiving overwhelming support from our institutional and retail investors,” Top Line president Erik Lim said.
“Rest assured, that Top Line is committed to maximizing our investors’ shareholder value. And at the same time to give more fresh ideas to the industry, to innovate and incorporate more technologies to our supply chains and expansion network, and to make it even more efficient and future-ready,” he said.
Top Line offered 2,148 billion primary common shares, with an overallotment option for another 214,844 million secondary shares.
Trading under the ticker symbol ‘TOP,’ the company listed its shares on the main board of the PSE with a public float of 22 percent.
The net proceeds from the IPO will fund Top Line’s vertical integration, importation and expansion plans to provide flexibility and reliability in its fuel supply as it penetrates the retail market of Central Visayas.
Operating in the fast-growing Central Visayas region, Top Line has built an integrated fuel distribution network.
The company’s expertise spans bulk procurement, storage, commercial sales, transportation, and logistics. Its operations include commercial fuel trade which covers depot operations and industrial accounts and an expanding retail segment under the Light Fuels and Light Fuels Express brands.
It plans to expand its service stations to 30 from 10.
The Investment & Capital Corporation of the Philippines and PNB Capital and Investments Corp. acted joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners for the IPO.