Despite sluggish market conditions, Maynilad Water Services, Inc. pulled off one of the year’s most anticipated trading debuts Friday, drawing fresh investor attention to infrastructure and utilities as it listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
The country’s largest water concessionaire by connections and population served debuted under the ticker MYNLD, opening at its offer price of P15 per share, and briefly dipping to P14.98 as of 1:34 PM.
Its market debut followed an upsized offering that included 1.66 billion primary common shares and 24.9 million shares sold to First Pacific Company Limited, with another 354.7 million secondary shares issued after the full exercise of the upsize option on 24 October.
Stabilizing agent UBS AG, Singapore Branch was also granted an overallotment option of up to 249.04 million primary shares, exercisable within 30 days.
The offering drew strong demand, closing 2.7 times oversubscribed, backed by investors from Asia, Europe, the Philippines, and the United States. Cornerstone support came from the International Finance Corp. (IFC), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and 10 other institutional investors spanning Malaysia, the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Switzerland, as well as local firms BDO Capital, BPI Asset Management, Metrobank Trust, and Security Bank’s asset arm.
Fueling expansion
Maynilad raised P34 billion in proceeds, which will fund capital expenditures, business expansion, and long-term sustainability programs for its water and wastewater operations.
“This marks the beginning of a new chapter for Maynilad. Apart from fulfilling one of the terms of our legislative franchise, this IPO enables us to pursue our long-term expansion plans for our water and wastewater businesses,” Maynilad President and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez said.
“The investments we have received signals confidence in our vision and plans to strengthen our positioning as a pure-play sustainability company, one that aims to continue bringing positive impact and value to our West Zone concession and beyond,” he added.
Development lenders backing the offer underscored its impact on both essential services and capital markets.
“This investment highlights our commitment to helping provide clean, accessible, and reliable water and safe sanitation services to millions of Filipino households, commercial and institutional users,” ADB Philippines Country Director Andrew Jeffries said.
“The expansion and modernization of water and wastewater infrastructure will contribute to improved climate resilience, public health, economic productivity, and social and economic development,” he added.
Echoing this, IFC Philippines Country Manager Amena Arief said the investment supports both service delivery and market deepening.
“IFC is proud to participate in Maynilad’s IPO to help the Company expand and enhance its wastewater services in the coming years,” she said.
“This investment signifies our commitment to improving the supply and quality of water for Filipinos and underscores IFC’s role in strengthening capital market development in the Philippines,” Arief added.
The IPO was jointly managed by UBS, BPI Capital, HSBC, and Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) as global coordinators and bookrunners.