Del Monte delays IPO as COVID-19 cases continue to rise

Del Monte Philippines Inc. on Wednesday said it has decided to delay its initial public offering, citing market volatility given the COVID-19 pandemic.

DMPI said it remains committed to listing and will do so when conditions improve, noting its belief in the growth and resilience of its business.

“Amidst a surge of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines and in the region, the PSE has been highly volatile in recent weeks, and the Board believes that it is in the best interests of the company, its shareholders and potential investors to defer the listing until conditions improve,” it said in an emailed statement.

The company said it will continue discussions with potential investors and strategic partners who expressed interest during the IPO process.

The IPO was initially scheduled on August 9 to 13, with its debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) set on August 23.

DMPI tapped Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte. and Credit Suisse (Singapore) Limited as joint global coordinators and bookrunners, and CLSA Limited, DBS Bank Ltd., and Jefferies Singapore Limited as joint international bookrunners.

DMPI also engaged BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and BPI Capital Corp. as joint local lead underwriters and bookrunners, and First Metro Investment Corp. as local co-lead underwriter.

The company plans to raise as much as P44 billion through offering 2.797 billion common shares. The offering was already given the go-ahead by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Metro Manila is under general community quarantine “subject to heightened and additional restrictions” from July 31 to August 5, 2021.

This will be followed by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) which will be in place from August 6 to August 20, 2021.

This comes amid the continued increase of new cases in the country. There were 6,879 additional cases reported on Tuesday, August 3, bringing the total to 1,612,541. This includes 63,137 active cases; 1,521,263 recoveries; and 28,141 deaths.—AOL, GMA News