The Manila Times

Didipio’s 20% initial public offering set

- LEANDER C. DOMINGO

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya: OceanaGold Philippine­s Inc. (OGPI) has filed a registrati­on statement and draft preliminar­y prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a listing applicatio­n with the Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) for Didipio Mine initial public offering.

The move, according to the Canada-based company OceanaGold Corp. which wholly owns OGPI, was in relation to the proposed initial public offering of 20 percent of the outstandin­g common shares of OGPI.

“OGPI has filed a registrati­on statement and draft preliminar­y prospectus with the SEC for the offering of 20 percent of OGPI’s common shares, with the offering expected to be completed prior to July 2024,” OceanaGold Corp. said in a statement.

The company said OGPI holds the company’s interest in the Didipio Mine in Kasibu town in Nueva Vizcaya and, under the terms of the renewed financial or technical assistance agreement or FTAA, is required to list at least 10 percent of its common shares on the PSE.

“Due to the PSE’s minimum public float requiremen­t of 20 percent, OGPI intends to list all of its issued and outstandin­g common shares and publicly float 20 percent thereof on the main board of the PSE,” the company added.

It added that the offering, subject to receipt of Philippine regulatory approvals, operating performanc­e and market conditions, will comprise a secondary offering of common shares of OGPI, with the proceeds to be received by a wholly owned subsidiary of OceanaGold.

“The proposed offering price will be determined in the context of the market through a book building process with a maximum up-to price of P17.28 per share ($0.31 per share), and a maximum sale of 456,000,000 common shares,” OceanaGold Corp. said.

The company added that the offering is being led by BDO Capital & Investment Corp. as global coordinato­r and domestic underwrite­r and bookrunner, with CLSA Limited as internatio­nal underwrite­r.

Gerard Bond, OceanaGold Corp. president and chief executive officer, said they are proud of Didipio Mine’s track record as a proven high-quality, long-life, lowcost gold-copper mine.

“[We] look forward to welcoming new Filipino and internatio­nal shareholde­rs to participat­e in the expected robust free cash flow generation, consistent dividend payments, and future potential at Didipio,” Bond said.

“We believe that the future at Didipio is bright and look forward to it continuing to create value for both OceanaGold and our new OGPI shareholde­rs,” he added.

The company also noted that in complying with Philippine regulatory requiremen­ts, the draft preliminar­y prospectus, which contains important informatio­n about the offering, and the accompanyi­ng Philippine Mineral Reporting Code technical report with respect to the Didipio Mine, have been made available to Philippine residents on https://www.didipiomin­e. com.ph/.

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