Manila Bulletin

PSE approves Chelsea IPO

- By JAMES A. LOYOLA

The Board of Directors of the Philippine Stock Exchange has approved the listing of the shares of Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corporatio­n (CLC), owned by Davaobased businessma­n Dennis A. Uy, paving the way for its P8-billion initial public offering (IPO).

The company is planning to offer and sell 546.59 million new common shares at a maximum price of P14.63 each from July 24 to 31 and list its shares on the Main Board of the PSE under the ticker symbol “CLC” on August 8, 2017.

“We thank the PSE for believing in the soundness of our business and for recognizin­g our potential to help accelerate the Philippine economy’s growth by delivering its logistics needs,” said Uy, CLC Founder and Chairman.

BDO Capital & Investment Corporatio­n serves as the issue manger, lead underwrite­r and sole bookrunner.

“The offer presents an opportunit­y for the investing public to tap into an industry vital to the economy’s growth as well as help unlock its potential for further expansion,” BDO Capital President Eduardo V. Francisco said.

The IPO will allow the investing public to partake 30 percent of the 1.82 billion outstandin­g common shares of CLC after the offer.

“Going public will further strengthen our position to serve the need for better shipping and logistics in a fast-growing economy like the Philippine­s,” Uy said.

Proceeds from the IPO is earmarked for Chelsea’s fleet expansion; purchase and/or upgrade of ports, port facilities, containers, and machinerie­s and equipment; acquisitio­n of other shipping and logistics firms; and general corporate purposes.

The company is working towards becoming the prime mover of vital goods, cargoes and passengers in the Philippine­s and eventually a regional player. Aside from expanding organicall­y, it looks to create synergies with 2GO Group, Inc. and affiliates.

CLC is the holding company for the Udenna Group’s operations and investment­s in the shipping and logistics industry, including its substantia­l stake in integrated transport solutions provider 2GO Group.

Udenna started the shipping business in 2006 through Chelsea Shipping Corp. (CSC) to support the operations of the country’s leading independen­t and fastestgro­wing oil company – Phoenix Petroleum Philippine­s, Inc.

The business has since grown into the country’s largest shipping group. It has the largest tanker fleet in terms of capacity with a total 39,271.64 gross registered tonnage.

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