DITO CME Holdings Corp. is set to finally launch its follow-on offering of up to P4.2 billion next week, after one month of delay as it stepped back to assess the market.
In a disclosure on Wednesday, the parent company of DITO Telecommunity (DITO Tel) announced that the offer would run on Nov. 20 to 26.
The transaction—which may cost P1 to P2.15 per share—involves 1.95 billion primary common shares. Final pricing is set to be announced on Nov. 15. The shares will be listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange on Dec. 6.
READ: Singapore firm poised to take control of DITO CME
The follow-on offering was supposed to run from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2 but potential investors had asked for “additional time to further evaluate this investment opportunity.”
The fund-raising activity was in line with its expansion plans as it targets to grow subscriber base from 13 million to 16 million by end of the year.
The third telco player is also working on on increasing its population coverage beyond the current 86.30 percent.
Prior to this, DITO CME was supposed to complete an P8-billion stock rights offering in 2022 but decided to drop it due to weak demand from large investors. The company refunded the subscription payments made by the investors as a result.
DITO CME president and chief operating officer Donald Lim previously assured that no cancellation would happen this time around, expressing optimism about the economy and stock market.
This month, DITO announced that Singaporean firm Summit Telco Corp. Pte. Ltd. would buy additional 9 billion common shares in the parent company. This is in line with DITO’s plan to secure up to P40.26 billion in fresh funding via private placements in the next five years or until the end of 2028. The company last year received P5.5 billion from selling common shares to Singapore-based third party investors.
On the debt side, DITO CME also inked last year a 15-year loan agreement with several creditors amounting to $3.9 billion (about P224.48 billion) in total. It drew P170.61 billion from these loan facilities last year to repay obligations and network construction-related payables.
The company earmarked P27 billion in capital expenditures this year to reach geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas where there is lack of internet connectivity. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad