By Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte, Reporter
FIGARO Coffee Group, Inc. cut the size of its initial public offering (IPO) by over half to P767.39 million from P1.77 billion.
In a listing notice on Thursday, the Liu-led food holding company said it will be selling 930,166,000 primary common shares for 75 centavos each, with an overallotment option of up to 93,016,000 primary common shares.
“The pricing was arrived after discussion with the underwriters as would reflect the fair value of the company and at the same time, in the view of the company, allows a reasonable return to investors,” Figaro said in a statement.
Figaro is behind brands such as Figaro Coffee, Angel’s Pizza, Tien Ma’s Taiwanese Cuisine, TFG Express, and Café Portofino.
“The final IPO price is at 75 centavos apiece, a 41.41% discount to its max offer price of P1.28 per share,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.
The company tapped Abacus Capital & Investment Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., and PNB Capital and Investment Corp. to be the joint issue managers, joint lead underwriters, and joint bookrunners of the offer.
Figaro was eyeing to offer 1.26 billion primary shares for up to P1.28 each, while it had an overallotment option of up to 126 million common shares. At this IPO size, the company may have raised up to P1.77 billion.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the company’s lowered IPO size may have been affected by recent market conditions that priced in recent events, such as concerns over the coronavirus disease 2019’s (COVID-19) new Omicron variant, “more hawkish Fed signals,” as well as proposed regulatory changes.
“Adjustments could have also been a function of recent supply and shares sold and the pipeline of upcoming new share sales on the market,” Mr. Ricafort said in a separate Viber message.
The company previously delayed its IPO to January next year, instead of listing at the PSE on Dec. 31. Its offer period was tentatively set to Jan. 10 to 14.
According to its preliminary prospectus dated Dec. 10, the company had planned to use net proceeds from the offer for store launches and branch renovations, commissary expansion, debt repayment, information technology infrastructure developments, and for potential acquisitions.
Figaro has yet to publish its final prospectus as of press time.