JG Summit raises P8.8B from sale of shares

CONGLOMERATE JG Summit Holdings Inc. has raised P8.8 billion in fresh funds from a top-up placement of shares to new investors, riding on a buoyant stock market.

Around 145 million JG Summit shares were sold to new investors at P61 apiece, or at a 12.7 percent discount to the closing price of P69.95 a share on Wednesday, according to a company disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Thursday.

“The transaction was done in order to widen the shareholder base of the company, and as a response to strong demand for the company’s stock,” the company said.

“The proceeds from the offering will be used for general corporate purposes,” it added.

A top-up placement is a quick capital-raising strategy where controlling shareholders lend some of their shares for sale to new investors.

However, controlling shareholders will have to subscribe to the same number of shares at the same price in the future, allowing proceeds from the offering to flow into the company.

Book-building was done Wednesday night with the help of investment banks UBS and CLSA.

The books were oversubscribed by two times the base offer, with about 70 investors participating in the book-building, said Lauro Baja, managing director of UBS Philippines.