By Jenniffer B. Austria | Posted on
Sep. 02, 2013 at 12:03am | manilasandardtoday.com
The Securities and Exchange Commission
has approved the P42-billion initial public offering of Robinsons Retail
Holdings Inc., the retail unit of the Gokongwei family.
Documents filed with the SEC showed
Robinsons Retail planned to sell 461.897 million shares, with an overallotment
option of 22.852 million shares, at an offer price of P86.64 apiece.
The offer shares, representing 35
percent of the company’s outstanding shares, would be listed under the first
board of the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Robinsons hired Deutsche Bank, JP
Morgan Securities Plc. and UBS as the joint bookrunners, and international lead
managers for the offering.
Maybank ATR Kim Eng Capital Partners
Inc. is the sole domestic underwriter.
Robinsons Retail did not set timetable
for the planned offering but said proceeds would be used to establish new
retail stores, renovation of existing stores and repayment of outstanding bank
loans.
The company is spending P33.59 billion
to expand its retail network by nearly 50 percent to 1,391 stores by 2014 from
940 stores of as end-June 2013.
It said of the 453 new stores, 227
would be built in Metro Manila and 226 would rise in other parts of the
country.
Robinsons Retail is also spending
P2.89 billion for the renovation of existing stores and P1.71 billion for debt
repayment.
The company seeks to further explore
partnerships with foreign retail companies, by adding more fashion brands to
its international fashion specialty portfolio.
Robinsons Retail operates six retail
segments including department stores, supermarkets, home improvement stores,
convenience stores, drug stores and specialty stores.
It operates the second-largest network
of department stores and supermarkets, under the brand Robinsons Supermarket
and Robinsons Department Stores. It is also the second largest home improvement
store operator in the country, as it operates Handyman, Do It Best, True Value
and Howards Storage World.
Robinsons Retail is also the exclusive
local franchisor of Japanese convenience store chain Ministop. It also owns
South Star Drug Store and a chain of specialty stores that carries the brand
Toys R Us, Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins and Saizen.
The company said it planned to
maintain an annual cash dividend payout ratio of 20 percent of its audited
consolidated net income for the preceding year.
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