Ovialand delays anew planned IPO

The Olivares family-led housing developer Ovialand Inc. is still on wait-and-see mode for its P2.2-billion initial public offering (IPO), pushing it back again, this time to 2025 depending on the market conditions.

Ovialand CEO Marie Leonore Fatima Olivares-Vital, in an interview in Makati last week, told reporters they were “open” to finally going public next year.

The company official announced in March last year that they were planning an IPO. A few months later, Ovialand said it was postponing the offering to the first quarter of 204 because of poor market conditions.

“So, right now, we’re still a little indefinite [undecided with regard] to the listing date,” Olivares-Vital said.

“Once the larger IPOs happen … those will be a signal for us that the foreign funds are already open. So, we’ll be open to entertaining again,” she added.

Higher valuation

The IPO plans involved the sale of up to 396 million shares for P5.60 each. Proceeds will be used for land banking, which is in line with the company’s goal of a nationwide expansion.

Given the delay in the IPO launch, Olivares-Vital pointed out the transaction could have a bigger valuation to factor in the company’s growth.

“When the time comes, definitely, it (IPO) will be at a much higher valuation,” she said. “The company has grown in the past two years. So, we’ll definitely reflect that.”

In January, Ovialand set up a joint venture with Japanese real estate firm Takara Leben to build at least five projects in Laguna and Bulacan over the next three years.

These projects are aimed at the “emerging middle class,” Olivares-Vital said earlier.

The two partners are set to develop first a 6.5-hectare property in San Pablo, Laguna. Over 650 homes will rise in this project, which is expected to generate P1.97 billion in sales.

The property developer started as a builder of socialized housing in the 1980s before shifting to the more upscale, but still affordable segment in 2014. INQ