Maynilad's board on Friday approved the sale of as many as 1.81 billion shares
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Maynilad provides water and wastewater services in the west zone of Metropolitan Manila.
Maynilad provides water and wastewater services in the west zone of Metropolitan Manila.
Maynilad Water Services Inc. plans to raise 36.2 billion pesos ($633 million) from an initial public offering that may be held this year.
Maynilad’s board on Friday approved the sale of as many as 1.81 billion shares, with options for over-allotment of up to 266.3 million shares and the upsize of a maximum 379.3 million shares to cover strong demand, the company said in a disclosure. The offer price will be as much as 20 pesos apiece, it said.
Maynilad President and Chief Executive Officer Ramoncito Fernandez said last week that the company could push ahead with its maiden share sale in the next two quarters and has hired banks including HSBC Holdings Plc, Morgan Stanley, and UBS Group AG to help prepare for the planned IPO.
“We want to be push-button ready this year depending on macro and geopolitical” developments, Fernandez told reporters.
The company is seeking a valuation of at least $3 billion in the IPO, Bloomberg reported last year, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Maynilad is required by its legislative franchise to sell shares to the public by the start of 2027.
In the Philippines, the maximum offer price is a placeholder in IPO filings, and it is common for issuers to trim the final price and offer shares following the book building process.
“This is the kind of IPO that can potentially do well amidst current market conditions,” said Juan Paolo Colet, managing director at Chinabank Capital Corp. “Maynilad will be regarded as a defensive stock as well as a dividend play, so it’s something many institutional and retail investors would consider buying.”
On Friday, Maynilad’s board also approved an annual dividend payout equivalent to at least 50% of the prior year’s net income after tax, the disclosure said.
Maynilad provides water and wastewater services in the west zone of Metropolitan Manila, operating about 7,500 kilometers (4,660 miles) of pipelines. It’s managed by Maynilad Water Holdings Company, a venture between Metro Pacific Investments Corp., DMCI Holdings Inc. and Marubeni Corp.
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