By Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Reporter
WEST ZONE water concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. may proceed with its planned P49-billion initial public offering (IPO) this year despite prevailing tariff uncertainties, according to its chairman.
“If we can (do the IPO) this year, yes, so that it will be finished and we can comply (with the law),” Maynilad Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of a media event last week.
“We have to go public by the early part of 2027. We just want to probably finish and comply with the franchise law of Maynilad. I’d like to encourage them to proceed,” he added.
This comes as e-wallet giant GCash said that the Trump administration’s tariffs have introduced significant uncertainty to its listing plans.
The US initially imposed a 17% reciprocal tariff on Philippine goods. However, these were suspended for 90 days, with most US trading partners paying 10% during the period.
Maynilad is mandated under its legislative franchise to offer at least 30% of its outstanding capital stock to the public by January 2027.
The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is expecting six IPOs in 2025. However, the local bourse has seen only one IPO so far — the P732.62-million market debut of Cebu-based fuel retailer Top Line Business Development Corp. in April.
According to its latest prospectus dated March 14, Maynilad is aiming for a pricing date of June 20, with the final offer price notice to be submitted to regulators on June 24.
The IPO offer period will run from June 25 to July 2, with a listing date set for July 10.
Maynilad’s IPO will comprise up to 2.46 billion common shares to be offered at a maximum price of P20 per share.
The offer includes 1.78 billion primary common shares, an overallotment option of up to 266.31 million primary common shares, an upsize option of up to 379.29 million common shares, and 36.31 million primary common shares to be offered to Pangilinan-led, Hong Kong-based investment holding firm First Pacific Co. Ltd.
Maynilad’s IPO could be the country’s largest if the indicative terms remain unchanged, exceeding the P48.6-billion market debut of food manufacturer Monde Nissin Corp. in June 2021.
The water provider will use the IPO proceeds for its capital expenditure program covering water, wastewater, customer service, and information system projects through 2026. It may also allocate proceeds for general corporate purposes.
BPI Capital Corp., HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and UBS were appointed joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, while BPI Capital Corp. was also named the domestic lead underwriter for the IPO.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which holds a majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., alongside Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.