Posted on October 17, 2011 09:34:21 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
BY FRANZ JONATHAN G. DE LA FUENTE
PROPERTY DEVELOPER ACM Landholdings, Inc. has postponed its listing debut to late 2012, citing unfavorable economic conditions brought about by fears of a global recession.
“We are postponing our IPO (initial public offering) to sometime past the third quarter,” Carolina S. Osteria, co-founder and chief financial officer of ACM Landholdings, which markets its units primarily to families of seafarers, told BusinessWorld in a telephone interview yesterday.
“We do not want to risk an IPO. Why go through a major economic typhoon right now?” she said, adding that the company’s current due diligence is already more than 80% completed and will be accomplished well before its public listing.
In March this year, the property developer, which caters to seafarers and their families, had announced a bid to raise P1 billion in fresh funds by listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) within the year.
ACM Landholdings’ latest withdrawal marks its third failed attempt to list on the PSE. Earlier IPO plans were shelved in 1997 and 2008 due to the Asian financial crisis and the global financial crises, respectively.
Only building contractor Megawide Construction Corp. and retailer Puregold Price Club, Inc. have braved the local equities market so far this year.
Semiconductor firm Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. and water utility Calapan Ventures, Inc. are expected to follow with their respective public offerings next month.
Nevertheless, ACM Landholdings remains upbeat on its prospects for next year. “The seafaring segment remains very strong, and we’re still optimistic,” Ms. Osteria said, even as she hinted at possible revisions at the company’s year-end revenue targets within the next two weeks.
ACM Landholdings has already sold almost 10,000 low- and mid-end homes.
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