DM Wenceslao sets IPO price at P12 a share

Integrated property developer and construction group D.M. Wenceslao and Associations has finalized its initial public offering at P12 per share, firming up its equity deal at P8.15 billion.

Amid turbulent market conditions, the IPO price had been slashed from the maximum of P22.90 per share indicated in the preliminary prospectus.

“Institutional tranche was well-covered by high-quality domestic and international investors at that P12 per share. In my opinion, it’s very good value for investors and understandably, the market needed some incentive,” said Reginaldo Cariaso, managing director at BPI Capital Corp.

Maybank Kim Eng and BPI Capital are joint global coordinators, bookrunners and underwriters for this offering.

Joseph Roxas, president of Eagle Equities Inc., said that at P12 per share, the offering was acceptable based on DM Wenceslao’s net asset value (NAV) of about P25 per share.

Roxas said this could turn out to be cheap but it would depend on whether the company could turn the increased asset values into profits. “Stockholders don’t get a piece of NAV unless a company is dissolved. They only share in profits,” he said.