The Bill Chill plans P600M IPO

Beverage retailer The Big Chill Inc. (TBCI), a subsidiary of publicly-listed Agrinurture Inc. (ANI), plans to debut on the local stock market this year to raise as much as P600 million for an expansion program in Greater China.

Banking on rekindled bilateral ties between China and the Philippines following Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Beijing last October, TBCI said in a press statement on Monday that it would raise capital expenditures for such offshore expansion.

Ahead of this equity exercise, the board of TBCI approved the issuance of warrants in favor of qualified shareholders of its parent firm ANI as of record date Feb. 3, 2017.

A warrant gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a security at a certain price before expiration. The price at which the underlying security can be bought or sold is referred to as the exercise price or strike price.

In this case, a shareholder of ANI owning at least 2,000 shares will have the right to avail of one TBCI warrant at the strike price of P1 or based on TBCI par value, with five-year American call option that will expire on Jan. 19, 2022. The ratio will be one warrant equivalent to one TBCI share.

The proposed initial public offering is expected to range from a low of P500 million to as high as P600 million, a company spokesperson said.

TBCI owns the brands Big Chill and Fresh Bar and is the franchisor of Tully’s Coffee in the Asia Pacific region. In recent years, it started offering franchises in major cities in the Philippines and Asia with the fastest growth expected in Greater China region.

ANI, which is engaged in the trading and distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables in the Philippines, acquired TBCI in 2011. The company is engaged in the management and operation of food and beverage outlets under a range of brands that cater to different market segments in Manila, Hong Kong, and Xiamen. It plans to foray into Taipei and Xuzhou after the lunar new year break.

“Under ANI’s management, TBCI is projected to churn revenues close to P5 billion a year,” the statement said.

TBCI said it would file the necessary regulatory approvals for the planned listing this year.