AllDay’s might: Another Villar firm hits price ceiling on debut day

Villar Group chair Manuel Villar (second from left) and PSE president & CEO Ramon Monzon (second from right) ring the bell during AllDay’s first trading day. Also in photo are: AllDay vice chair Camille Villar (left) and former DPWH Secretary Mark Villar (right). —PHOTO FROM ALLDAY

“Brown taipan” Manuel Villar’s supermarket arm AllDay Marts Inc. sizzled on its inaugural stock trading on Wednesday, rising by 50 percent or the maximum price upswing allowed in the market, reminiscent of the strong market debut of affiliate Golden Haven five years ago.

As the P4.53-billion initial public offering (IPO) generated overwhelming demand from retail investors bullish on a new supermarket “pure play,” AllDay also made history for being the first company to breach the 10-percent allotment that stock market debutants are required to set aside for local small investors (LSIs) through the Philippine Stock Exchange Electronic Allocation System (PSE EASy).

AllDay’s stock price closed at 90 centavos, surging from its offer price of 60 centavos per share, giving it a market capitalization of P13.71 billion. It was the second most actively traded company for the day, with about P406.7 million worth of shares changing hands in the open market.

During the listing ceremony, PSE president Ramon Monzon reported that there were 6,624 LSIs who had participated in the IPO coming from 74 provinces, two territories and 26 countries, including Papua New Guinea. These LSIs subscribed to more than 1.1 billion shares, exceeding the LSI allocation of 685.7 million shares by 1.62 times. The institutional investor category was likewise 2.5 times oversubscribed, Monzon said.

“This clearly demonstrates the trust and confidence investors have in the Villar family with their proven experience and success in their various businesses,” he said.

“Perhaps many of these investors still remember the unparalleled success of the group’s Golden Haven IPO, which listed in 2016 at P10.50 per share,” Monzon said.

Golden Haven, now known as Golden MV Holdings to reflect its diversification from memorial park development to housing business, hit the price ceiling for several straight days after listing. It is now trading at P540 per share, giving it a market capitalization of P347.8 billion.

Other market sources earlier said that on the retail tranche, or the allotment made through the trading participants, AllDay’s IPO had been oversubscribed by about 10 times.

Prior to the launch of PSE EAsy in 2019, Monzon recalled that LSIs filled up only 12 percent of the 10-percent mandatory allotment. After 12 IPOs, the share of LSI’s increased to 34 percent.

“Little did we expect [that] this soon, on the 13th IPO, the 10 percent LSI allocation would be fully taken up, what more, oversubscribed,” Monzon said, congratulating AllDay for setting a new record in LSI availment.

AllDay is the fifth Villar company to list on the stock exchange, unlocking the value of enterprises that the tycoon grew more aggressively as he focused on business since losing the 2010 presidential elections.

Aside from AllDay and Golden MV, the other publicly listed companies led by Villar are property developer Vista Land & Lifescapes, shopping mall developer StarMalls and home improvement retailer AllHome Corp.Part of the proceeds will be directly used by AllDay for the rollout of new stores. It intends to reach 100 stores by 2026, from 33 stores as of end-June.

During the listing, AllDay vice chair Camille Villar said: “We are heartened by your vote of confidence … So today we are taking yet another step into a brighter future for the Philippine supermarket industry,” she said.