All set for Maynilad’s P45.8-B stock debut

Maynilad Water Services Inc. inched closer toward its P45.8-billion initial public offering (IPO) this month after obtaining the approval of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The operator of the local bourse said in an advisory on Monday that Maynilad would offer up to 2.3 billion shares for as much as P20 each.

The final offer price will be set on Oct. 20, while the offer period will be from Oct. 23 to Oct. 29.

The concessionaire will list under the ticker “MYNLD” on Nov. 7, more than a year ahead of its January 2027 deadline with the government.

Earlier, Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez said they would cut their maximum offer price to P15 per share in consideration of their cornerstone investment agreement with International Finance Corp. (IFC) and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

These multilateral institutions were considering investing $245 million into the company’s IPO, but only if the offer price did not exceed P15.

Apart from IFC and ADB, the United Kingdom government is also pledging its support for Maynilad’s IPO.

In its Oct. 3 preliminary prospectus, Maynilad said it now had a cornerstone investment agreement with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, through its Mobilizing Capital Through Listed Products program.

This is the same agency that pitched in $12.5 million into the IPO of Edgar Saavedra-led Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. last year, allowing the company to raise P5.3 billion from its stock market debut.

Since then, the UK government has committed to boosting trade and investment flows to the Philippines, particularly looking at sustainability-related projects.

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For its part, Maynilad recently received the Philippines’ first Green Equity label, which would allow it to attract more investors by tagging its shares as “green” prior to its offer.

At the same time, asset management firm Robeco Switzerland Ltd. is also participating as a cornerstone investor for an investment size of up to $20 million.

Others are Maybank Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd., Maven Investment Partners Ltd.-Hong Kong Branch, Abrdn Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. and QRT Master Fund SPC-Torus Fund SP.

Domestic cornerstone investors include BDO Capital, BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp., Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. and Security Banking Corp.-Trust and Asset Management Group.