Maynilad preps for mandated IPO slated after 2025 polls

MANILA, Philippines — Maynilad Water Services Inc. has initiated preparations for its planned stock market debut which could happen as early as 2026.

“It (initial public offering, or IPO) has to happen on or before January 2027. We’re looking at anywhere between after the elections and early 2026,” Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez told reporters on Tuesday.

As part of its concession agreement with the government through the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), Maynilad—the largest private water concessionaire in terms of customer base— is required to conduct its public offering on or before January 2027.

Under Republic Act No. 11600, Maynilad holds a 25-year franchise to establish, operate, and maintain a waterworks system and sewerage and sanitation services in the west zone service area of Metro Manila and the province of Cavite.

The company is mandated to offer at least 30 percent of its outstanding capital stock to the public within five years from the effectivity of the law that President Duterte signed in December 2021.

When asked why the IPO will occur after the national elections, Fernandez said a confluence of factors is at play before Maynilad goes public.

After 2025 elections

He said this was difficult to answer because it’s a combination of political, social, and economic factors, and because the investors will also want to see what the situation would be by then.

But Maynilad has started the paperwork for the IPO and is “still crunching the numbers” with its advisors, Fernandez said.

READ: Biggest ever: Maynilad to pour in P31-B capital outlays in 2024

The concessionaire of the MWSS’ West Zone is in the process of complying with the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange for staging its IPO.

In September last year, a Bloomberg report cited sources as saying that the water service provider was mulling over an IPO that could enable them to raise between $750 million and $1 billion.

Apart from the IPO, Fernandez also said Maynilad is studying other fundraising activities including debt and equity structures to bankroll its capital expenditure of P150 billion to P160 billion, “the highest in the history of Maynilad.”

A separate Bloomberg report published in February this year stated that Maynilad was considering a funding round totaling about $300 million that could materialize sometime in 2025 or before its IPO.