Cebu Landmasters eyes IPO

Cebu may soon have its first homegrown property development company listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) plans to raise as much as P3.8 billion from a stock debut this May, boosting its war chest for expansion in key cities in Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin).

Quoting a prospectus it submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, CLI said in a press statement that it would offer 505 million common shares plus additional 75 million shares in case of excess demand.

The initial public offering (IPO) shares are proposed to be sold at a maximum of P6.56 each.

The proposed IPO—which is targeted by mid-to late May this year, will bring to public hands around 34 percent of total equity.

Of the offer shares, 430 million shares will comprise primary shares while 75 million will consist of secondary shares.

BDO Capital was mandated as the sole issue manager for CLI’s stock market debut. Joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners are BDO Capital and BPI Capital.

CLI, the first Cebu-based real estate developer to apply for an IPO, has been cited as the leading local real estate developer in the Metro Cebu residential condominium arena.

It has an 11-percent market share of the total supply of residential condominium units in Metro Cebu, second only to Ayala Land, based on a market estimate made by CBRE Philippines (now Santos Knight Frank).

In the last 13 years, CLI has diversified from the residential segment into commercial, hospitality, industrial and mixed-use product offerings further distinguishing it from other VisMin real estate players.

“We will use our flexibility to create new developments in the cities of Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Iloilo and new Cebu locations. These projects will maximize the demand and supply indicators in each location with the best uses for each site,” CLI president and chief executive officer Jose Soberano III said. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA