BIZ BUZZ: Health-care pure play

Everyone in the country knows billionaire Manuel Villar, a self-made businessman, former presidential candidate and, according to Forbes magazine, the richest man in this part of the world. Many people are familiar with his wife, Senator Cynthia and children, Mark, Paolo and Camille.

Not too many, however, may have heard about his brother, Virgilio Villar.

That will soon change as Medilines Distributor, chaired by Virgilio, is making a P2-billion stock market debut.

Based on a prospectus filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission, 825 million common shares—a mix of primary and secondary shares—will be offered to the public at a maximum price of P2.45 per share.

Although the current global crisis stemmed from a public health-care crisis, there hasn’t been any new health-care play in the local stock market, and Medilines hopes to break the ice.

A leading distributor of medical equipment to public and private health-care facilities, Medilines hopes that the initial public offering (IPO) could be launched within this year, subject of course to regulatory approvals.

Medilines has appointed PNB Capital and Investment Corp. as the sole issue manager, lead underwriter and sole bookrunner for the proposed stock market debut.

“We are excited to work with Medilines in drawing out another opportunity to bring to the capital market an essential and pandemic-resilient business,” PNB president Gerry Valenciano said. “We envision this to be the first pure-play health-care IPO in the Philippines.”

A pure-play is a company that focuses on only one line of business, unlike a diversified company with a wide-ranging product line and sources of revenue.

Founded in 2002, Medilines distributes quality equipment from global medical device companies such as Siemens, B. Braun and Varian. Its portfolio of products under diagnostics imaging, dialysis and cancer therapy addresses the medical treatment needs of Filipinos.

Since the onset of the pandemic and despite strict lockdowns, Medilines has been deploying a significant number of COVID-19-related equipment, including CT scans and mobile X-rays, which help detect possible complications due to the virus.

—Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

Foton, Chery for Olympic medalists

If you think the country’s Olympic medalists have seen the last of the rewards for their outstanding performance during the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, think again.

And this time, the rewards come in the form of cars and commercial vehicles.

Biz Buzz learned that United Asia Automotive Group Inc. (UAAGI), the official exclusive Philippine distributor of Foton and Chery vehicles, rewarded three victorious Filipino medalists, led by gold medal-winning weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, with their very own automobiles.

The formal turnover of the vehicles to the three Olympians was held recently in ceremonies led by UAAGI president Rommel Sytin, Sen. Francis Tolentino and Philippine Olympic Committee head Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.

Happily receiving their brand-new vehicles were weightlifter Diaz, who clinched gold in the women’s weightlifting category; Nesthy Petecio, who won the silver in the women’s featherweight boxing category; and Carlo Paalam, who also took the silver in the men’s flyweight boxing category.

UAAGI rewarded Diaz with a Foton Transvan 13-seater model, one of the most popular models from the brand. Petecio, on the other hand, was rewarded a Chery Tiggo 2 SUV in the new gray color. Paalam was given a Foton Gratour MT, a versatile MPV that can be used by the family or for business.

“We are all very proud of what our hard-working athletes have achieved on the global stage,” Sytin said. “They have brought so much pride and inspiration to their fellow Filipinos, which are much needed in these difficult times.”

Of course Sytin, through UAAGI, is an advocate of Philippine sports, especially in the fields of volleyball and basketball. UAAGI has been fielding highly competitive teams in women’s volleyball, first as the Foton Tornadoes and recently under the Chery Tiggo Crossovers banner. Recently, the Chery Tiggo Crossovers clinched the first-ever professional volleyball championship under the inaugural Premier Volleyball League.

—Daxim L. Lucas