International Finance Corp. (IFC) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) plan to invest up to $245 million in Maynilad Water Services Inc. as cornerstone investors for the water utility’s planned P45.8-billion initial public offering (IPO).
The multilateral lending institutions expressed interest in subscribing to shares at a price of P15 apiece.
IFC agreed to subscribe to $100 million worth of shares in Maynilad at a subscription price of up to P15 apiece, according to the latest prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. ADB is also considering participating as a cornerstone investor for up to $145 million in Philippine peso equivalent, also at P15 apiece.
Maynilad said ADB has “substantially completed its evaluation” but is still obtaining approval from its Board of Directors.
“There is no assurance that such approval will be obtained for ADB to sign legally binding documentation for this transaction and participate as a cornerstone investor. Thus, there is no guarantee that ADB would be able to participate in the offer,” Maynilad said.
If Maynilad reduces the offer price to P15, expected proceeds from the IPO will drop to P34.2 billion from P45.8 billion.
The offer period for the IPO is scheduled from Oct. 23 to 31, 2025, with the listing date set for Nov. 7, 2025.
The water utility firm plans to use the proceeds from the sale to fund its water, wastewater, customer service and information systems projects. Maynilad earmarked P16.69 billion for 2025 capital expenditures, which will increase to P60.19 billion in 2026.
Under its concession agreement with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), Maynilad is required to offer its shares to the public on or before January 2027.
Maynilad tapped BPI Capital Corp., the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte. and UBS AG Singapore Branch as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the offer.
Domestic underwriters include Maybank Securite Pte. Ltd., BDO Capital & Investments Corp., First Metro Investments Corp., Security Bank Capital, and East West Banking Corp.
