Yehey! gets SEC nod on listing by way of introduction

MANILA, Philippines—The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the registration of P278 million common shares that Internet firm Yehey! Corp. plans to list by introduction on the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Based on SEC documents, the commission approved for registration 278 million common shares of Yehey! with a par value of P1 each representing 100 percent of the company’s stocks.

Yehey!, a unit of Vantage Equities, plans to list by way of introduction—or without an initial public offering—on the second board of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

In 2007, Yehey!’s parent company Vantage Equities issued 84.79 million common shares to shareholders on the basis of one Yehey! common share for every 20 Vantage common shares held. As of record date, Vantage had about 1.79 billion shares and 810 stockholders. Vantage Equities, which had a 98.85-percent stake in Yehey!, reduced its holdings to 68.35 percent after the property dividend declaration.

Established in 1998, Yehey! is a Web-based company offering database search engines, web development and digital design, and online marketing/consulting. It was put up by five college friends from the Ateneo de Manila University who saw the potential of the Internet industry and decided to pursue a project, which they envisioned to spoof Yahoo! They thus launched a search engine specifically for the Filipino community. In 2011, it posted a net income of P11.2 million out of P33.85 million in revenues.

The second board of the PSE is meant for companies with “potential for superior growth.” The local bourse, however, has suspended the processing of any new listing on its second and small and medium enterprise boards to pave the way for the review of listing rules for these smaller-cap companies.

Part of the plan is for the PSE to unify its second and SME boards and just offer a single platform for smaller-cap companies wishing to go public.—Doris C. Dumlao