Manny Villar is considered the richest Filipino after gaming Forbes’ billionaire ranking but he has absolutely no Midas touch when it comes to initial public offerings (IPOs).
From ER to ICU: MEDIC plunges 40% a week after listing with Jojo Villar, PNB still mum on IPO bust
Villar was on track to record yet another IPO bust when his VistaREIT Inc. (VREIT) opened below its offer price of P1.75 with an intra-day low of P1.59 on June 15.
But thanks to last minute buying by its stabilizing agent, China Bank Securities, VREIT survived the lackluster trading and managed to close at its IPO price with P271 million in total trades, fifth most active for the day.
While closing unchanged on its debut is not something to crow about, some punters consider this an achievement (especially in a down market) for Villar considering the woeful track record of his IPOs:
* Medilines Distributors (MEDIC), led by his brother Virgilio, down 70 percent to 68 centavos from P1.20 offer price in December 2021;
* AllDay Marts (ALLDY) down 44 percent to 33.5 centavos from 60 centavos offer price in October 2021; and
* ALLHome (HOME) down 61 percent to P4.52 from P11.50 offer price in 2019.
His only successful IPO is his memorial park, Golden MV Holdings (HVN) which is up 6,320 percent to P674 from its offer price of P10.50 in 2017. Most investors consider this an outlier with its irrational price-earnings ratio of 282.
Villar’s first IPO in 1995, mass housing builder Camella & Palmera Homes (CMP), actually performed spectacularly, rising more than a third on its debut. It made Villar a dollar billionaire.
CMP, however, got pummeled in the Asian financial crisis from 1997 to 1998 along with debt-heavy property developers.
It never recovered and it was eventually absorbed under Villar’s Vista Land & Lifescapes (VLL).
CMP shareholders were forced to take a massive haircut on their shares in exchange for a stake in VLL.
Will VREIT finally break the Villar curse?