Calata debuts on PSE, bares expansion plans

Agribusiness firm Calata Corp. has bared plans to set up a network of retail stores across Luzon and expand its operations this year.

Calata’s shares rose on Wednesday—its first day as a public firm—to close at P7.70 per share from its initial offer price of P7.50.

Officials said the expansion of the company’s operations this year would ensure that stockholders continued to receive healthy returns for their investments.

“We’re a growing company. Once we grow our operations, our stock price will follow,” said 31-year-old Joseph Calata, the company’s president and CEO.

Net proceeds of the company’s share sale on Wednesday, with 10 percent off the company’s capital stock going to public hands, reached about P242 million. The 36.1 million newly issued shares were sold at P7.50 each.

Company underwriter Unicapital Inc. said the offer was 1.7 times oversubscribed. “It was oversubscribed despite the fact that we priced it at the maximum,” Unicapital corporate finance manager Pamela Victoriano said.

Calata is the third company to hold an initial public offering (IPO) this year, after GT Capital Holdings and EastWest Bank.

At the sidelines of the company’s listing ceremony, Calata said the company would spend P139 million from the proceeds of the IPO to establish a network of 100 retail stores in Luzon.

The balance of the IPO proceeds would be spent to augment the company’s current inventory and for general corporate purposes.

The retail stores would sell animal feeds, fertilizers, chemicals and other farm inputs to small farmers. The retail business would complement the company’s current wholesale agriculture supply operations.—Paolo Montecillo