VILLAR EYES SUPERMARKET, REIT IPOS THIS YEAR

Business tycoon Manuel Villar Jr. is planning two initial public offerings (IPO) this year—that of grocery chain All Day worth as much as P6 billion and an office-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) offering.

The group has yet to determine the size of the planned office REIT offering.

The IPO of All Day is seen to add a new purely supermarket play in the local stock market, which has rewarded businesses deemed as essential and did not experience major disruptions during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

In a virtual press chat on Thursday at the launch of the two-day Villar Group Convention or “The ViCon”—touted as the Philippines’ first and biggest virtual property exposition —Villar said the plan would be to sell up to 30 percent of All Day Marts Inc. to the public as early as October this year. Estimated IPO size is P5 billion to P6 billion.

The portfolio will likely exclude the convenience store business under the same All Day brand, Villar said. “I prefer a pure play,” he said.

All Day’s prospective comparable peers in the stock market are Puregold Price Club and MerryMart Consumer Corp.

Villar said All Day could represent the “future of supermarkets,” offering the “new standard” of cleanliness and aesthetics in grocery operations. The offering, mostly consisting of primary common shares, is seen to unlock about P25 billion to P30 billion in enterprise valuation for All Day.

All Day currently has about 35 to 40 stores nationwide. The plan is to open about 10 new stores every year.