Eagle Cement eyes IPO

MANILA, Philippines - Eagle Cement Corp. of tycoon Ramon Ang is embarking on an initial public offering (IPO) to raise at least P9 billion, industry sources told The STAR.

 The company filed its IPO application with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday.

Eagle Cement is offering the shares at a maximum P16 each share.

It tapped three joint lead underwriters namely SB Capital Investment Corp., China Bank Capital Corp. and PNB Capital & Investment Corp. to handle the transaction.

 Eagle Cement, a 100 percent Filipino owned company born from the vision and passion of Ang, its chairman, is raising funds for expansion to capitalize on increased public spending.

Ang, president and chief operating officer of San Miguel Corp. (SMC), is spearheading the diversified conglomerate’s  growth.

Eagle Cement, which is not affiliated with SMC, is a household name in the local cement industry, manufacturing and distributing cement under the brands: Eagle Cement Advance and Eagle Cement Strongcem.

 Its plant facility in San Ildefonso, Bulacan was established in 2008. It started its commercial operations in 2010.

Last year, the company announced it commenced construction of a $300 million cement plant in Davao to boost production and meet increasing demand from robust infrastructure activities in and outside Metro Manila.

The new cement plant has the capacity to produce two million tons or 50 million bags per year.

Ang earlier identified Davao as a key growth area for the Philippines.

In 2013, SMC’s power subsidiary San Miguel Global Power Holdings Inc. broke ground for a new power generation facility in Malita, Davao.

 The new 300-megawatt power plant, which is part of a 2,000-hectare PEZA-accredited industrial estate SMC is building in the province, is now fully operational.

Davao is also home to subsidiary San Miguel Brewery Inc.’s brewery.

The Philippine Stock Exchange hopes to see at least P200 billion raised from IPOs and follow-on offerings this year.

Among the companies planning to do an IPO this year are Wilcon Depot Inc. (P7.9 billion), Cebu Landmaster (P3.8 billion), Audiowav (P2.7 billion), Pure Energy Holdings  (P1.5 billion), Xeleb (P736 million) and The Big Chill (P500 million to P600 million).