Audiowav pursues IPO to fund Asian expansion

AUDIOWAV Media, Inc. is pursuing its initial public offering (IPO) amounting to as much P2.66 billion within the quarter to finance its expansion in other Asian markets.

The technology firm wanted to launch its maiden share sale as early as Feb. 13-17 and list on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Feb. 27, according to an updated prospectus dated Jan. 11 but released to the media later on Monday.

The IPO managed by SB Capital Investment Corp. and Philippine Commercial Capital, Inc. comprises 900 million shares priced between P1.77 and P2.96 apiece to raise P1.59-P2.66 billion. It will allow public investors to own 23.1% of the company’s common shares totaling 3,000,000,200 currently.

Audiowav, however, has yet to receive the green light from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the proposed public offering.

The company filed with the SEC a registration statement for the offer shares last October. It then targeted to undertake the IPO and subsequently debut on the Small, Medium and Emerging Board of the PSE before 2016 drew to a close.

The company expects to net P1.43 billion to P2.41 billion from the IPO. It intends to use majority of the proceeds to fund its expansion in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Indonesia and other markets in Asia.

Audiowav intends to form a new subsidiary through capital investment in Malaysia (P23 million to P38.6 million), Vietnam (P52.6 million to P88.3 million), Thailand (P78.8 million to P132.5 million) and China (P657 million to P1.10 billion). —