Century Pacific IPO gets SEC nod

Leading food manufacturer Century Pacific Food Inc. has obtained approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise as much as P3.3 billion from an initial public offering later this month.

Century Pacific, the 35-year-old company behind the popular canned food brand Century Tuna and a number of other brands, plans to sell up to 229.65 million shares at a maximum offer price of P14.50 per share.

In a statement on Friday, Century Pacific said the offering period will run from April 23 to 29 while listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange will be on May 6.

Following the SEC’s approval, the company said it would conduct roadshow presentations in Cebu on April 8 and Manila on April 11.

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

Proceeds from the offering will be used to fund its planned capital expenditures for expansion and profit improvement, potential opportunistic acquisitions, retirement of debt and working capital for the succeeding years.

“Over the last 35 years, Century Pacific has established a strong brand and product portfolio through, and supported by, continuous product innovation, brand building and acquisition of brands from third parties,” the company said.

Given its portfolio of brands, Century Pacific believes that it is well placed to benefit from the country’s growing middle class and the multi-year growth trajectory in consumer spending.

The company is being advised by Evercore Asia Ltd., and its joint underwriters are BDO Capital, BPI Capital and First Metro Investment Corp.

The stock debut will bring to public hands about 10.3 percent of the company’s common shares to public hands. The offering targets mostly domestic investors.

Founded by businessman Richard Po Sr., Century Pacific is a leading branded food company primarily 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 processed dairy products industry. It was the largest producer of canned food in the Philippines in terms of retail value, based on Euromonitor data for February 2013.