THE Philippine unit of Campos-led Del Monte Pacific Ltd. has deferred its listing at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), citing volatile market conditions.
The P17.55-billion listing of Del Monte Philippines Inc. (DMPI) would have been the first initial public offering (IPO) for the year of the PSE, whose benchmark index has seen wild swings over the past six months, becoming the worst performer in the region.
“However, market conditions continue to be volatile and the company has been advised by its bankers and advisors that it would be in the best interest of the company and DMPI to defer the offering until such time when market conditions improve,” Del Monte said its disclosure.
Some 30 percent of the offering would have been sold to international investors and the rest to the domestic market. The company first moved the listing date from June 25 to June 27.
Pricing of the offering would have been on Wednesday and the investors’ and media briefing the next day. The briefings were called off on Wednesday afternoon and the company did not release any statement on the final price of the offer.
Both the PSE and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have already approved the offering, which involved 587.43 million in secondary DMPI shares being sold by Central American Resources Inc. The said shares are being priced at a maximum of P29.88 per share.
Proceeds of the offer will be used to pay for the loans made by its parent firm Del Monte Pacific.
After the offer, Del Monte Philippines will have a public float of 21 percent.
BDO Capital and Investment Corp. has been appointed as the issue manager, sole global coordinator and sole book-runner for the offering.
About two-thirds of the sales of Del Monte Philippines come from the country and the rest from exports under the S&W brand and private label brand.
Del Monte claims to be a market leader in the Philippines in canned-pineapple juice and juice drinks, canned pineapple and tropical mixed fruits, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce and tomato ketchup, and is a household name.