Century Pacific all set for IPO

MANILA, Philippines—Century Pacific Food Inc. is planning an initial public offering worth as much as P3.3 billion this year.

Century Pacific, the 35-year-old company behind popular canned food brands including Century Tuna, has filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to sell up to 227.35 million shares at a maximum offer price of P14.50 apiece.

Of the shares to be sold through the IPO, 181.88 million will consist of primary shares, proceeds from which will be used for potential acquisitions, debt repayment and other capital outlays.

Some 45.47 million will consist of secondary shares to be sold by controlling shareholder Century Canning Corp.

Based on the registration statement it filed with the SEC, Century Pacific has mandated BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp. and First Metro Investment Corp. to arrange the IPO. The offering is expected to run from March 28 to April 3. Listing on the local stock exchange is set on April 8.

But the timetable is still subject to regulatory approvals.

The stock debut will bring to public hands about 10 to 12 percent of the company’s common shares to public hands. The offering targets mostly domestic investors.

Century Pacific is a leading food company founded by Chinese-Filipino businessman Richard Po Sr. It is engaged in the development, processing, marketing and distribution of processed fish and meat in the Philippines. It is also a big player in the local dairy industry. It was the largest producer of canned foods in the Philippines in terms of retail value, based on Euromonitor data for February 2013.

In 2013, the company posted a net profit of P690.3 million. Net sales amounted to around P19 billion.

Upon completion of the offer, the company intends to maintain an annual cash and/or share dividend payout of up to 30 percent of its net income from the preceding year.

Century Pacific operates five production facilities for the domestic and overseas markets. It exports both private label and branded products to 42 countries.

Apart from Century Tuna, its brands include 555 for sardines and tuna, Argentina and Swift for canned meat products, and Angel and Birch Tree for canned and powdered milk.

The company bought the Swift-branded meat business from the RFM group late last year. In 2010, the Century Pacific group teamed up with Unilab to acquire a controlling stake in San Miguel Purefoods, but the latter’s controlling shareholder, San Miguel Corp., decided to keep the food subsidiary in its portfolio.