Del Monte’s rights offer set at P10.60 per share

SCREENGRAB from www.delmontepacific.com

FOOD conglomerate Del Monte Pacific Ltd. (DMPL) has priced a stock rights offering at P10.60 each, allowing the company to raise US $154.4 million to pare down debt incurred from a big US acquisition.

The offering of shares to existing investors will be simultaneously launched at the Philippine and Singapore bourses. In Singapore, the offering was priced at an equivalent of S$0.325 per rights share.

Based on an offering circular posted at the Philippine Stock Exchange, the offering will run from February 11 to 27 while listing of new shares on both exchanges – where the company is dually listed – will be on March 10 this year.

The offering is part of DMPL’s strategy to reduce debt following last year’s $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 will offer one share for every 2.029 ordinary shares held. BPI Capital Corp. and DBS Bank Ltd. were mandated as lead underwriters.

Specifically, the proceeds will cover the bridge loan facility of $165 million earlier obtained from the Bank of Philippines Islands for the acquisition of DMFI.

The Camposes’ NutriAsia Pacific Ltd., which currently controls 66.76 percent of the existing share capital, earlier committed to subscribe for its pro-rata entitlements in the rights issue.

DMFI, with a 26 percent market share in the canned fruit market in the United States, is envisioned to provide the group with a solid growth platform and supplement its expansion efforts and provide longer term opportunities in the emerging markets of South America.

For its part, 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.

The brand also has a growing presence in India through FieldFresh Foods, DMPL’s joint venture with Bharti Enterprises, one of India’s largest conglomerates. It also owns the S&W brand – a producer and marketer of premium quality packaged fruits and vegetables – from Del Monte Corp. – for Asia, Middle East, Europe and Africa.