GT Capital road show yields orders from big investors

The P22.3-billion stock debut of taipan George Ty’s GT Capital Holdings is being warmly received by overseas investors, with the order book already filled right at the beginning of a six-city international road show.

“There has been overwhelming demand. It’s unprecedented. The demand book was covered on day one and we haven’t even finished the road show,” said Lauro Baja, Philippine managing director at UBS, which is the global arranger of GT Capital’s initial public offering.

Baja, speaking to Inquirer in a telephone interview from Hong Kong, said the Asian legs of the road show had just been finished. After the sessions in Singapore and Hong Kong, the road show team will hold investor briefings in London as well as in three US cities—New York, Boston and San Francisco.

The stock offering will consist of up to 41.217 million firm shares and an over-allotment option of 6.18 million shares.

GT Capital has set the indicative price at between P415 and P470 a share, equivalent to 11.9 to 13.4 times its likely earnings for 2012, based on the estimates of UBS Investment Research.

Baja reported that the offering was “significantly oversubscribed,” citing “very strong” demand from international investors and sovereign wealth funds.

“I think there’s just too much demand for a limited number of shares,” Baja said. “It’s the testament to the solid reputation that the Ty family has in building, together with its management team, strong businesses that deliver long-term value.”

The GT Capital stock offering is touted as a proxy to the Philippine economy given its interests in robust sectors like power generation (Global Power), banking (Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co.), real estate (Federal Land Inc.), automotive (Toyota Motor Philippines) and insurance (Phil AXA Life Insurance Corp.).

GT Capital is the first Philippine company to undertake an IPO this year.

“What I see in the road show so far is that the country has re-entered into a new chapter in attracting strong foreign investors. It’s very good for the country, for the (Philippine Stock) Exchange and GT group,” Baja said.

The final price of GT Capital’s shares will be set on April 3 and listing is scheduled on April 20.