Posted on November 22, 2015 09:13:00 PM [ Businessworldonline]
By Krista A. M. Montealegre, Senior
Reporter
INTEGRATED property developer D.M.
Wenceslao and Associates, Inc. intends to brave the equity market with the
country’s largest initial public offering (IPO) this year even after
diversifying construction firm Datem, Inc. shelved its stock market debut.
Property developer D.M. Wenceslao and
Associates’ Aseana City, an emerging business district on reclaimed land along
Manila Bay, is shown in this undated handout photo.
Datem notified the Philippine Stock
Exchange (PSE) on Friday that it postponed its P4.66-billion first-time share
sale to an unspecified later date, with volatile market conditions seen as a
dampener to the company’s equity offer.
Asked if the firm intends to push
through with the planned P21.7-billion IPO this year in light of Datem’s deferral,
D.M. Wenceslao Chief Executive Officer President Delfin C. Wenceslao said in a
mobile phone message: “Yes.”
D.M. Wenceslao has recently tweaked the
timetable of its IPO, pushing back the offer period to Dec. 9-15 after setting
the final offer price on Dec. 4, according to its prospectus dated Nov. 16.
Trading of its shares on the Main Board
of the PSE is scheduled to commence on Dec. 22.
The share sale will happen just before
the Federal Reserve holds its policy meeting on Dec. 15-16 where it is widely
expected to raise interest rates for the first time this year -- a cause of
volatility across global financial markets.
“The goal is always to finish strong as
we close the year amid all uncertainties,” PSE Chief Operating Officer Roel A.
Refran said in a phone interview.
“There’s so much liquidity in our system
that’s ready to be invested when there are investment opportunities. I’m not so
much disheartened by what’s happening in the market,” Mr. Refran said.
Year-to-date, the bellwether PSE index
is down 4.12% after cumulative gains reached a high of 12.4% in April.
D.M. Wenceslao plans to sell up to
429.17 million primary common shares with a par value of P1 per share at a
maximum price of P44 apiece, generating P18.88 billion in gross proceeds.
Key shareholder Wendel Holdings Co.,
Inc. has an option to upsize the offering by P2.83 billion with the sale of up
to 64.375 million common shares in the company.
The share sale will bankroll the
construction of the company’s pipeline projects, purchase of land assets
through share acquisitions, development of infrastructure within Aseana City
and other general corporate purposes.
D.M. Wenceslao’s key asset is 583,801.1
square meters of land in Aseana City -- located next to Entertainment City and
the Mall of Asia complex, and positioned as the next major central business
district in Metro Manila.
Several IPO candidates are still
awaiting regulatory approvals. They are Pointwest Technologies Corp. (P2.09
billion), TVI Resource Development Phils., Inc. (P1.51 billion), Philippine
Primark Properties, Inc. (P1.2 billion), Gweilo Corp. (P95 million); Philstocks
Financial, Inc. (P190 million); and Green Power Panay Philippines, Inc. (P290
million).
So far, only Crown Asia Chemicals Corp.
(P222.78 million) and SBS Philippines Corp. (P1.16 billion) have joined the
bourse this year.
Metro Retail Stores Group, Inc. (P3.97
billion) is making its stock market debut on Tuesday followed by Italpinas
Development Corp. (P242 million) on Dec. 7.
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