Ovialand may put on hold initial public offering–exec

Property developer ovialand Inc. said it may defer its initial public offering (IPO) due to “choppy market conditions.”

Pammy Olivares-vital, the company’s president and CEO, noted that the company is forming a joint venture with listed Tokyo-based real estate firm Takara Leben for its succeeding projects.

“Now, I want to be a good partner to Takara Leben. So for us to be paralleling the IPO, while we are opening the projects with them, it might not be [a good] time. So right now, our focus is to be a good partner [of] Takara Leben.”

Vital said Ovialand’s investment bank, SB Capital Investment Corp., has advised the company to wait for the IPOS of top firms, such as the SM group’s real estate investment trust and billionaire Enrique K. Razon’s Prime Infrastructure Inc.

“Once those are successful, then that’s the signal that foreign investors are back. And we’ll have a better chance of having a good IPO,” she said.

“When we had to defer our IPO, we put all our efforts in growing the company. So we recorded growth in 2023. We expect substantial growth again for 2024. But in the meantime, we’re focusing on delivering the houses to our homebuyers.”

In March 2023, Ovialand filed for its IPO with the Philippine Stock Exchange. It had hoped to raise as much as P2.21 billion.

In its registration statement, Ovialand said it plans to offer 336 million primary common shares, up to 24 million in secondary common shares and an over-allotment option of up to 36 million secondary common shares. The offer could reach up to P5.60 per share.

Ovialand plans to use the net proceeds from the offering for land banking initiatives in Laguna and in Bulacan, development of pipeline real estate projects in Laguna, Batangas, Quezon and Bulacan and for other general corporate purposes.

In June last year, the company announced that it would defer its plan citing volatility in local and global markets.

Ovialand’s first project with the Japan firm will be Savana South, which will complement Ovialand’s market presence in Laguna. Savana South will be a 6.5-hectare development for 657 homes that will generate P1.97 billion in sales over four years.

Under the agreement, Ovialand and Takara Leben will seek to open other projects together. Their locations will be strategically determined in accordance with Ovialand’s goal to have a nationwide presence by 2030. This year, the company is eyeing two projects with its new Japanese partner.