PSE approves DMPL’s stock rights offering meant to raise $180M

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange has approved a plan by Campos family-led food conglomerate Del Monte Pacific Ltd. (DMPL) to raise as much as $180 million from a stock rights offering to be dually launched in the Philippines and Singapore.

The offering is part of DMPL’s plans to pare down debt related to its $1.675-billion acquisition of the consumer food business of American corporation Del Monte Foods (DMFI). This deal allowed DMPL to break into the American market and reunite with its mother brand in the United States.

DMPL plans to offer one rights share for every 2.029 ordinary shares held. The offering will run from Feb. 5 to 23 this year, with BPI Capital Corp. and DBS Bank Ltd. acting as lead underwriters.

A total of 642.8 million common shares will be offered by DMPL through the two bourses, where it is dually listed.

Based on an offering memorandum posted on the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, the offering will be priced at a discount within the range of 20 to 25 percent to a reference price, which will be calculated based on volume-weighted average price of an ordinary share of DMPL for trades on the PSE and the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd. (SGX-ST) for a period of five market days prior to and including the pricing date. Targeted pricing date is Jan. 23.

The offering is also subject to the approvals of SGX-ST and clearance from the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it will be exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Regulation Code. Such clearance had been obtained from the SEC.

DMPL operates one of the largest pineapple plantations in the world and is seen bringing to DMFI potential benefits from economies of scale, value-added expansion as well as the optimization of its operations over time. It owns the Del Monte brand in the Philippines where it is the market leader across major food and beverage categories.