The Philippine Stock Exchange said Thursday it approved the P3-billion initial public offering of medical equipment provider Medilines Distributors Inc.
“The healthcare industry has been in the spotlight since this pandemic broke out. We are pleased to see a company in this space tap the stock market for capital raising. We are hopeful that this IPO will pave the way for other companies in this sector to seek funding from the equities market,” said PSE president and chief executive Ramon Monzon.
Medilines will offer up to 550 million primary common shares priced up to P2.45 each. Majority shareholder Virgilio Villar will also sell secondary shares of up to 275 million shares.
Net proceeds from the sale of primary shares amounting to P1.28 billion will be used to finance the company’s working capital in relation to the procurement of products and the build-up of medical consumables inventory and repay debt.
It will not receive proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling shareholder, which could amount to P641.2 million.
The offering is scheduled to run from Nov. 22 to 26, 2021 while listing on the main board of the local bourse is set on Dec. 7, 2021 under the stock symbol “MEDIC.”
It said up to 10 percent of firm offer shares will be reserved for local small investors.
The company tapped PNB Capital and Investment Corp. as the sole issue manager, lead underwriter and sole bookrunner for the offering.
Medilines distributes medical equipment to both public and private healthcare facilities in the Philippines. Its portfolio, which includes equipment from multinational medical device companies, caters to specialized medicine, including diagnostic imaging, dialysis and cancer therapy.
It is one of the five companies that are raising funds from the capital market in the fourth quarter.
Synergy Grid Corporation of the Philippines, The Keepers Holdings Inc. and Sta. Lucia Land Inc. will conduct follow-on offering next month while Megawide Construction Corp. will issue preferred shares.