Villar’s power REIT firm gains 6.7% on trading debut

Billionaire Manuel Villar Jr.’s Premiere Island Power REIT Corp. rose during its stock market debut on Thursday after trading below its P1.50 initial public offering (IPO) price for most of the session.

Premiere Island Power REIT, which listed under the stock symbol “PREIT”, closed its first day higher by 6.67 percent to P1.60 per share.

The stock opened at P1.47 per share and further sank by about  8.7 percent or to as low as P1.37 per share, before closing at P1.60 per share.

The broader stock exchange index fell by over 0.7 percent as investors weighed a fresh wave of interest rate hikes in the Philippine and the United States.

Traders told the Inquirer the deal underwriters likely stepped in at the last minute to support the company’s share price.

The power and infrastructure-themed real estate investment trust (REIT) is the 9th firm to go public this year.

The shares are secondary stocks, meaning the proceeds will go to the selling shareholders S.I. Power Corp. (Sipcor) and Camotes Island Power Generation Corp. (Campcor), which are controlled by Villar.

The initial portfolio will consist of land and power plant assets utilized in the power generation projects of Sipcor and Camphor in Cebu and Siquijor, which have a total combined installed capacity of 21.2 megawatts.

VFund Management Inc. and VProperty Management Inc. have been tapped as fund manager and property manager, respectively.

Moreover, China Bank Capital Corp. was hired sole issue manager, underwriter, and bookrunner for the IPO. while RCBC Capital Corp. will serve as participating underwriter.

The company said proceeds will be used by sponsors to acquire and develop real estate that would be leased to affiliate PAVI Green Renewable Energy Inc. for its various projects.

“Such properties may be eventually be infused into the company, and this reinvestment strategy is expected to eventually make the Company a leading renewable energy REIT in the Philippines,” the IPO prospectus showed.

The other eight IPOs this year were Haus Talk Inc., Figaro Coffee Group Inc., Citicore Energy REIT Corp., Bank of Commerce, CTS Global Equity Group, Inc., Raslag Corp., VistaREIT Inc., and Balai ni Fruitas Inc.