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THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved Pepsi-Cola
Products Philippines Inc.’s (PCPPI) application to sell shares to
the public for the first time.
Documents showed that the soft
drink firm would be selling up to 1.3 billion common shares, 380.78
million of which are new shares and 761.35 million are stocks held
by existing shareholders, at an estimated maximum price of P6.04
each.
The selling shareholders of the
company are Guoco Asset (Phils.) Inc., Hong Way Holdings Inc. and
the Nassim Fund.
Of the total, 799.6 million
shares would be sold abroad while 342.7 are allotted for domestic
investors. PCPPI also has the option to sell an additional 171.35
million shares as an over-allotment option.
In connection with the fund
raising exercise, PCPPI registered 3.69 billion shares, of which
2.380 billion were issued and outstanding shares.
Proceeds of the initial public
offering estimated to reach P2.299 billion would be used to fund the
capital expenditures of the company for the next two years. About
P910 million was earmarked for additional non-carbonated beverage
production facilities in several plants.
PCPPI has allotted P455 million
to expand the volume of soft drinks produced, and another P455 each
to expand PET production capacity and launch new products.
Earlier, Asset Pool A (SPV-AMC)
Inc. filed its objection to the sale of shares held by some of
PCPPI’s stakeholders.
However, PCPPI replied that the
claims are already subject to court proceedings and that the SEC
“should not be used as an alternative or additional forum or venue
to prove one’s case or seek a remedy more proper for the courts to
give or a remedy already sought in the court proceedings. “
Likha C. Cuevas-Miel
Moreover, the firm said that the
amount of the claims of about P164 million is not material under the
circumstances and PCPPI is “not a party” to any of the suits.
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