SEC approves IPOs of Cal-Comp, Fruitas

THE Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC) announced on Friday that it had greenlighted the initial public offerings ( IPO) of Cal- Comp Technology ( Philippines) Inc. and Fruitas Holdings Inc.

In a statement, the regulator said the approvals were finalized during its commission enbanc meeting on Thursday.

“The corresponding orders of registration and permits to sell securities will be issued upon the companies’ compliance with certain conditions,” the SEC said.

The P10.68-billion IPO of Cal-Comp is made up of 371.42 million shares with an overallotment option of 55.71 million shares for P25 apiece. The final offer price will be announced on November 6.

Forty percent of the net proceeds will go to expansion efforts. The rest is allocated for capital expenditures ( 30 percent), debt repayment ( 15 percent), research and development ( 12 percent), and working capital ( 3 percent).

Offer period is from November 4 to 11.

BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and Maybank Kim Eng Securities Pte. Ltd. are the joint global coordinators and bookrunners for the offering.

Cal- Comp initially planned to hold a P6.77-billion IPO last year, but withdrew, citing volatile market conditions.

Meanwhile, Fruitas’ offering consists of 533.66 million primary common shares with an overallotment option of up to 68.34 million outstanding common shares. Maximum price is P1.99 apiece.

The food-and-beverage kiosk operator eyes to hold the offer period from November 18 to 22. It plans to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange by November 29.

The investing public could buy up to 28.2 percent of the firm’s issued common shares.

“We are thankful to the SEC for granting pre- effective clearance for our IPO as this will allow us to serve our products to more Filipinos, source more raw materials, employ more people and contribute to the growth of the Philippine economy,” Lester Yu, Fruitas founder and chief executive officer, said in a separate statement.

“Going public will further strengthen our position as the leading food-andbeverage kiosk business player in the country and broaden the opportunities for growth,” he added.

BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and First Metro Investment Corp. are the joint issue managers, bookrunners and lead underwriters of the transaction.

Fruitas and Cal- Comp are the latest firms to go public this year, after AllHome Corp., Axelum Resources Corp. and Kepwealth Property Phils.