Golden Haven sizzles on stock debut

SHARES of Villar family-led death care service provider Golden Haven Memorial Park sizzled on its trading debut on the local stock exchange on Wednesday as investors bought into a business that – as a demographic certainty – never runs out of clients.

Golden Haven’s shares surged by 49.9 percent to close at P15.74 per share from the initial public offering price of P10.50 per share. It was the second most actively traded company at the Philippine Stock Exchange, with about P491.4 million worth of shares changing hands.

The company raised P778 million from the offering and brought 15 percent of its shares to public hands. Based on Wednesday’s trades, it ended with a market capitalization of around P5.2 billion.

“Today, Golden Haven marks another milestone as the first memorial park or death care business to list on the PSE’s main board. The utmost concern and care we provide for our dearly departed are unique values Filipinos continue to uphold. A good memorial park and death care provider allows us to continue this tradition,” said PSE chair Jose Pardo during his welcome remarks during the listing ceremony.

“With the conclusion of the company’s IPO, the proceeds from the offering should help your company expand and enhance your business practices and services,” Pardo said.

Golden Haven, an affiliate of leading housing developer Vista Land & Lifescapes, is a leading developer of memorial parks. It has been in operation for three decades and has established a footprint in cities like Las Pinas, Cagayan de Oro, Bulacan, Cebu, Iloilo and Zamboanga for its memorial park business. It also develops, constructs and operates columbarium facilities.

The Villar family has also indicated plans to enter the pre-need business in the future to complement Golden Haven’s product offerings.