Synergy Grid FOO priced at P12/share

Synergy Grid & Development Philippines Inc., the listed holding company of Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr., has priced its follow-on offering at P12 per share, the low end of its price guidance.

At P12 per share, Synergy will raise P13.85 billion from the sale of 1.15 billion shares, including an over-allotment option.

Proceeds from the sale would be used primarily to subscribe to non-voting preferred shares to be issued by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the country’s sole transmission operator.

Synergy indirectly owns a majority stake in NGCP. Synergy will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the option shares by the selling shareholders, Sy and Coyiuto.

Asked about the demand, Sy said demand is strong with many stockbrokers scrambling for shares.

BDO Capital & Investment Corp. president Ed Francisco likewise said there has been a spike in demand from investors following the announcement of the new price range for the FOO.

Synergy is targeting to list on Nov. 10 following an offer period that will run from Oct. 26 to Nov. 2.

Investors participating in Synergy’s FOO will effectively be able to own a stake in NGCP, Francisco said.

The FOO of Synergy is a way for investors to effectively own NGCP as the listing of Synergy will be a substitute for the initial public offering of NGCP, he said.

NGCP is required to go public as part of its compliance with the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, the law that privatized the country’s power assets. Under the EPIRA, power companies are required to sell a portion of their shares to the public.

Synergy’s FOO is one of three public offerings in store for stock market investors in the coming weeks.

The others are the P7.5-billion FOO of Lucio Co-owned The Keepers Holdings, which will list on Nov. 19 and the P4.5billion IPO of AllDay Marts Inc., set to list on Nov. 3.

– Iris Gonzales