PNOC EC to hold follow-on offering

PNOC Exploration Corp., the upstream oil and coal arm of state-run Philippine National Oil Co., is set to conduct a follow-on offering in or before June this year to comply with the 10-percent public float requirement of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

“They’ll try to comply with the 10 percent public ownership rule. That’s what I’m getting from (PNOC president) Tony Cailao,” said Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla.

According to Petilla, the focus of PNOC EC is to comply with the listing requirement. Should it fail to do so by June this year, which is the deadline set by the local bourse, PNOC EC may still proceed with the offering and work on its listing again afterwards. He said PNOC EC could also seek another extension so it could hold the offering.

PNOC EC plans to offer 217.8 million primary shares. Its public float currently stands at 0.21 percent or 4.47 million shares, with the bulk of the shares held by the government.

To comply with the 10 percent public ownership rule, the company needs to sell 9.9 percent of its total shares or 217.76 million primary shares to the public.

A source earlier said PNOC EC was expecting to raise between P7 billion and P10 billion from its planned follow-on offering in case of a sluggish market. A more favorable market may enable the company to generate up to P15 billion.

The source further said PNOC EC was hoping one of the biggest names in the power industry today would acquire the shares, including conglomerate San Miguel Corp. and the Lopez Group.

The company earlier tapped UBS AG as financial adviser, sole underwriter and global coordinator for the planned additional public offering.

PNOC EC plans to pursue the offering not only to comply with the PSE requirement but also to boost its capitalization “to enable it to enhance its capability to discover and develop more indigenous energy sources like oil, coal and gas.”