Bilyonaryo Exequiel “Exie” Robles has decided to defer Sta. Lucia Land Inc.’s (SLI) fundraising activity rather than sell shares now at a steep discount.
The Sta. Lucia president and controlling shareholder wrote the Philippine Stock Exchange on Nov. 4 that it was postponing its P9.9 billion follow-on offering (FOO) just days after getting its application papers approved.
Robles said China Bank Capital, is sole issue manager and lead underwriter, conducted a book-building process recently to determine the final offer price, which was estimated at P2.38 to P3.29, and the results were not encouraging. SLI closed Friday at P2.94, 16 percent off its all-time high of P3.55 five months ago.
“Unfortunately, after careful consideration of the results received during the book-building process, the company determined that it will not be in the best interest of the company and its shareholders to move forward with the FOO at this time. Thus, with great regret, the Company has decided to postpone the FOO,” Robles said.
“The company undertook the FOO not just to raise funds for the company’s operations, but also primarily to enhance shareholder value. Given current market conditions and multiple common equity issuances pricing at a significant discount to their respective offer price ranges and more so to their current trading levels, the company believes that it will not be enhancing value for its shareholders if it were to agree to offer its shares at a price that is at a significant discount to the current market price,” he added.