LBC revives P1.5-B follow-on offering plan
After obtaining fresh funding from a Singaporean private equity firm, logistics provider LBC Express Holdings has renewed its bid to sell up to P1.52 billion worth of shares to the public.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange earlier, LBC said its board had approved the re-filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission of a follow-on equity offering consisting of up to 61.101 million common shares at an indicative price of up to P22 per share.
The proposed offering will be composed of 10 million new common shares and 59.101 million in secondary shares to be placed out by some shareholders.
Investment house Philippine Commercial Capital Inc. is the lead underwriter and issue manager for the proposed follow-on offering.
“The company expects to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes and working capital, including the expansion of retail and corporate business, information technology development, and other corporate purposes,” the company said.
The offering is subject to the approvals of the SEC and The Philippine Stock Exchange.
Both the SEC and PSE earlier rejected the follow-on offering sought by LBC because of an ongoing civil case filed by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) against LBC Express, LBC Development, LBC Properties, and certain members of the Araneta family. This was in turn linked to PDIC’s collection claim on behalf of a defunct LBC banking affiliate.
Last month, LBC Express accepted a deal with Singapore-based private equity group Crescent Point for the latter to buy $50 million in debt notes secured by a majority stake in the Araneta family-led company.
The LBC board agreed to issue convertible notes to CP Briks Pte. Ltd., a special purpose vehicle managed by Crescent Point.
The local logistics group agreed to a hefty collateral in exchange for a $50-million funding because LBC was still working on the assumption that it would be able to conduct a subsequent follow-on equity offering. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA
