3 IPOs lined up next month

MANILA, Philippines — Stock market investors can look forward to at least three initial public offerings (IPOs) next month: Raslag Corp., North Star Meat Merchants Inc. and VistaREIT Inc.

Raslag, the solar company owned by the Nepomuceno family, is scheduled to list on June 6 following an offer period which will run from May 23 to 27.

Raslag will offer up to 350 million primary shares and up to 52.50 million over-allotment option shares at a price of up to P2 per share.

Raslag expects to net P648.08 million from the share sale to be used to finance the company’s future solar projects, namely the 35.1-megawatt (MW) Raslag-4, a solar photovoltaic plant in Magalang, Pampanga and the 60-MW Raslag-5.

The rest of the proceeds would be used for other solar projects in the pipeline.

Raslag, a pioneer in the country’s grid-scale solar energy development, already has two operating power plants – its maiden 10.046 (MWp) Raslag-1 and the 13.141 MWp Raslag-2. Both plants were included in the government’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) system, which guarantees a fixed price for renewable energy players in the country for 20 years. Raslag-1 has P9.68 per kWh base tariff, while Raslag-2 has an P8.69 per kWh base tariff, essentially guaranteeing payment from the government with annual adjustments for inflation and foreign exchange.

Another IPO-bound company is North Star Meat Merchants Inc., which has already obtained the green light from the SEC.

North Star will offer to the public up to 360 million common shares priced at up to P10 per share. The offer will also include 32 million shares to be offered by selling shareholder Golden MJTF Holdings Inc., plus an over-allotment option of 58 million common shares, priced at up to P10 each, to raise up to P4.5 billion.

The shares will be listed on June 10 and traded on the main board of the PSE.

Net proceeds from the offering of the primary shares is expected to amount to about P3.462 billion, which the company will use for capital expenditures to expand its cold chain infrastructure, to increase working capital, and to expand product lines.

North Star is a meat vendor and supplier that operates 360 meat concessions nationwide. It has 8.09 million kilograms of company-owned cold storage capacity across the country and can deliver up to 120,000 kilograms of meat daily.

Villar-owned VREIT likewise is ready to list its shares on June 15, having obtained the green light from both the PSE and the SEC.

The REIT will offer up to 3.33 billion firm shares and up to 333.75 million over-allotment option shares at a price of up to P2.50 per share, with the final offer price to be determined on May 25 after the company conducts its bookbuilding process.