Emperador looks to Singapore for fundraising
Billionaire Andrew Tan’s liquor conglomerate, Emperador Inc., is readying fundraising plans overseas after setting the final date for a milestone Singapore Stock Exchange debut on Thursday.
Emperador has mandated investment banks to “explore ways to introduce liquidity” to the planned listing on the main board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd. (SGX-ST) on July 14, a stock exchange filing on Monday showed.
The plan was subject to market conditions and the company’s compliance with certain requirements, the disclosure showed.
Emperador, part of Tan’s holding company, Alliance Global Group Inc., makes stock exchange history by becoming the first Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)-primary listed firm to conduct a secondary listing on the SGX-ST.
This would raise Emperador’s profile overseas, potentially making it more attractive to large institutional funds.
“This will expand opportunities for participation by investors in Singapore and beyond as we continue to invest in our ambitious international expansion,” Winston Co, Emperador group president and CEO, said in the filing.
UBS AG Singapore Branch and J.P. Morgan (S.E.A.) Ltd. were hired as joint managers for the proposed secondary listing.
Emperador will begin trading in Singapore under the stock code “EMI.” Last June 20, Emperador’s board also voted to change its PSE ticker code from “EMP” to “EMI” to align with its SGX stock symbol.
‘Landmark event’
Co said the SGX listing was a landmark event for Emperador, the world’s biggest brandy producer and owner of overseas brands such as Fundador and Whyte and Mackay.
“The secondary listing of Emperador on the SGX is a key milestone in the development of our business as a leading international brandy and whisky company, reflecting our global reach and the strength of our world-class portfolio of brands,” he said.
Emperador’s whisky and brandy products are available in over 100 countries. It earlier announced plans to bring international sales to 50 percent of revenues and profits by 2025.
Revenues in the first quarter of the year rose 2 percent to P12.3 billion, however, rising cost pressures kept profits flat at P2.1 billion. The company earlier said the growth in sales reflected the strong “overall demand” for its products.
