The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) has approved the initial public offering (IPO) of Figaro Coffee Group Inc. (FCG), the last local firm to go public this year.
Figaro, a pioneer in the coffee shop sector in the country, is selling 1.26 billion primary shares and up to 126 million over-allotment shares, for an indicative price of P1.28 apiece.
It hopes to raise as much as P1.77 billion from the IPO.
The final offer price will be determined on December 10 after the company conducts its book building process, while offer period is scheduled on December 16 to 22. Its tentative listing date is set on New Year’s Eve.
“We are pleased that this year’s fund raising pipeline will be capped with an IPO. This shows that despite the pandemic, companies new to the stock market have the opportunity to raise capital through equity financing. We are looking forward to supporting FCG in its IPO as it aims to raise funds for expansion,” PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said.
The firm will offer 10 percent of its offer shares to local small investors, who may subscribe to the IPO through the PSE EASy website or mobile application.
In its documents, the company will include its other brands, such as Angel’s Pizza and Tien Ma restaurants in the IPO.
“We intend to use the net proceeds from the offer primarily to fund the following projects and plans: store openings and renovations; commissary expansion; debt repayment; IT infrastructure developments; and potential acquisitions,” the company said.
“As part of our growth plans, we plan to have a total of about 150 system-wide stores by the end of 2022 and more than 300 system-wide stores throughout the country by the end of 2029. As part of our store network expansion plan, we consider the viability of potential locations subject to various factors such as market and economic conditions, and results of our operations and performance.”
The company said it will expand its company-owned stores for the next three years. For Angel’s Pizza, it will expand to viable locations in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, Pampanga and Batangas, with 35 company-owned stores. For Figaro Coffee, it will expand to six locations mostly in Metro Manila including malls, hospitals and mixed-use areas or central business districts and also Metro Manila for Tien Ma’s, with two more branches and TFG Express, with 18 additional branches.
“Out of the approximate P501.50 million offer proceeds to fund store openings and renovations, an estimated total of P432 million is allotted for capital expenditures for the planned company-store openings.”
The company said it will use some P350.3 million to increase the system-wide capacity of its commissary operations. The commissary expansion involves the construction of satellite commissaries in key locations throughout the country and the construction of a new commissary, dubbed the Mayon 2 Commissary building to be located in the head office of the subsidiary.
The company has engaged Abacus Capital and Investment Corp., China Bank Capital Corp. and PNB Capital and Investment Corp. as joint issue managers, joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners for the offer.
The Figaro Group is a home-grown diversified food group with over 25 years in the industry. It operates through its one wholly-owned subsidiary, Figaro Coffee Systems Inc., which operates a set of retail restaurants with 90 branches nationwide and international territories that serve a variety of food offerings and services.
As of September 17, it operates 52 Figaro coffee shops, 31 Angel’s Pizza outlets, five Tien Ma’s Taiwanese cuisine restaurants, one TFG Express outlet and one Café Portofino outlet.