SEC approves 7th public listing of Manny Villar

Billionaire Manuel Villar Jr. is taking his seventh company public after obtaining the clearance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list Premiere Island Power REIT Corp. within the year.

Premiere Island Power REIT, which would be Villar’s second IPO in 2022 after VistaREIT’s June listing, is raising up to P3.2 billion via the stock market.

The SEC said “PREIT” plans to sell shares from Nov. 25 through Dec. 2 with the the target listing date on Dec. 12. This was based on the latest timetable that was still subject to change.

Villar, who is the country’s richest man according to Forbes Magazine, had previously listed AllDay Marts Inc., AllHome Corp., Golden MV Holdings, Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. and Vistamalls Inc.

Premiere Island Power REIT is a power and infrastructure-themed real estate investment, whose earnings are mainly distributed to shareholders as dividends.

It was also the first time Villar would list assets under flagship infrastructure conglomerate, Prime Asset Ventures Inc., which also owns utilities giant Prime Water and broadband firm Streamtech.

The REIT firm would be sponsored by Villar power companies S.I. Power Corporation (Sipcor) and Camotes Island Power Generation Corporation (Campcor).

“The company’s initial property portfolio consists of land and power plant assets utilized in the power generation projects of Sipcor and Camphor in Cebu and Siquijor, which have a total combined installed capacity of 21.2 megawatts,” according to the SEC.

The offer will include up to 1.4 billion common shares priced at P2 per share plus an option to sell another 210 million shares. The selling shareholders were Sipcor and Campcor.

VFund Management Inc. and VProperty Management Inc. have been tapped as fund manager and property manager, respectively.

Moreover, China Bank Capital Corp. was hired sole issue manager, underwriter, and bookrunner for the IPO. while RCBC Capital Corp. will serve as participating underwriter.

Last week, the SEC approved the P2.2 billion IPO of Alternergy Holdings Corp., founded by former Energy Secretary Vicente Perez.

Eight companies have listed so far these year. These were Haus Talk Inc., Figaro Coffee Group Inc., Citicore Energy REIT Corp., Bank of Commerce, CTS Global Equity Group, Inc., Raslag Corp., VistaREIT Inc., and Balai ni Fruitas Inc.

A number of IPOs were also pushed back due to bearish market conditions.

These included the P28 billion IPO of billionaire Enrique Razon Jr. and the P4.5 offer of North Star Meat Merchants Inc.