The Philippines’ largest hospital chain has filed for an IPO, it said in a filing on Wednesday (4 September), as reported in Reuters. In fact, “bidders are reportedly lining up to buy a 40% stake in the business from its parent Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPI.PS).”
According to the report: “In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Metro Pacific Hospitals Holdings Inc said it plans to sell as much as 457.86 million shares, including over-allotment option, at a maximum price of 182 pesos ($3.47) per share.”
“At that price, the hospital group could raise as much as 83.33 billion pesos ($1.6 billion), but price ceilings cited in Philippine IPO filings are tentative,” the report continued.
Currently, Metro Pacific Investments has an 85.6% stake in Metro Pacific Hospitals, while Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC owns the rest of the unit.
Under the IPO plan, four-fifths of the shares for sale would come from Metro Pacific Investments – which also has interests in power, water and toll roads.
In the report, David Nicol, CFO of Metro Pacific Investments, told Reuters: “This would be huge for the business and the capital expenditures needed for our hospitals’ continued expansion.”
The healthcare chain has hired UBS (UBSG.S), Bank of America Merrill Lynch, CLSA, and JPMorgan (JPM.N), among others, to arrange the IPO – which is set in November.
