By Karen Lema and Yantoultra Ngui
MANILA/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Cornerstone investors will buy more than half of Maynilad Water Services Inc.’s planned initial public offering of up to 25.3 billion pesos ($438 million), two sources said, in what is expected to be the Philippines’ biggest listing this year.
Maynilad, the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines, serves the west zone of Metro Manila and parts of Cavite province. It is majority-owned by Metro Pacific Investments Corp, DMCI Holdings and Japan’s Marubeni Corp.
Cornerstone investors are institutions that commit to purchase shares ahead of the IPO, providing confidence and stability to the deal.
BDO Capital and Investment Corporation President Eduardo Francisco confirmed it is among the cornerstone investors.
Other participants include abrdn Malaysia, Asian Development Bank, International Finance Corporation and Maybank Asset Management, among others, which together would invest more than $250 million at a price not exceeding 15 pesos per share, one of the sources familiar with the matter said.
The IPO is priced in a range of 14 to 15 pesos per share, one of the sources said.
Final pricing is scheduled for October 20, with trading starting on the Philippine Stock Exchange on November 7, said one of the sources, who declined to be named as the matter was private.
“As the IPO process is currently ongoing and we remain within the regulatory quiet period, we are unable to provide further comment on transaction details, cornerstone participation, or timelines beyond what has already been disclosed in our prospectus,” Maynilad said in a statement.
“ADB is contemplating participating as a cornerstone investor in the offer,” an ADB spokesperson said in an emailed response to Reuters on Tuesday. “Any such participation by ADB remains subject to our internal processes, including due diligence, final approvals and documentation.”
IFC declined to comment. Maybank Asset Management and abrdn did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
The company plans to use proceeds from the sale of primary shares to fund capital expenditures for water and wastewater projects and for general corporate purposes, according to its preliminary prospectus.
(Reporting by Karen Lema in Manila and Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
