IPM Group plans backdoor listing

MANILA, Philippines - The IPM Group of Companies, a major player in the construction industry and operator of the Payatas landfill in Quezon City, is orchestrating a backdoor listing on the local bourse via the acquisition of shell firm Minerales Industrias Corp. (MIC).

Headed by businesswoman Isabelita Paredes Mercado, the IPM Group will be acquiring P500 million worth of MIC shares to be taken out of the listed firm’s increase in authorized capital.

The P500 million cash infusion will then be used to purchase 75 percent of Basic Environmental Systems and Technologies Inc. (BEST), the country’s largest integrated waste solutions provider. 

The acquisition of BEST will allow MIC to shift its focus from mining metals to mining tons of municipal solid waste being collected, processed and recycled into renewable source of energy such as refuse derived fuel.

The IPM Group’s acquisition of MIC and the change in the latter’s primary purchase to that of a holding company will be subject to the approval of MIC shareholders in a meeting scheduled on Feb. 8.

Backdoor listing is believed to be the easier, cheaper and faster way to achieve a listing status..

 “We’re looking forward to becoming part of the stock market. We’re confident that by being part of MIC - a publicly-listed firm - more people will be aware of the innovations we have done in providing a sustainable and environment-friendly solution to the ever-growing waste problems,” said Atty. Dwight Ramos, senior vice-president of BEST.

BEST was organized in 1999 primarily as a garbage collection contractor for Metro Manila and hauling these wastes to landfill areas. In 2005, the company began its march towards providing total waste management by being involved in the rehabilitation and closure project of the Payatas controlled dump facility in Quezon City.

The company owns a world-class engineered sanitary landfill facility in Morong, Rizal, which serves the waste disposal requirements of the province and select private corporations. The Morong facility has since expanded to include a materials recovery and composting facility which pushed BEST closer to its goal of becoming an integrated waste management solution provider to the local government units’ perennial garbage problem from collection to disposal to recycling.

BEST was tapped by the government to help in the massive cleanup of Metro Manila during the aftermath of the devastation left by typhoon Ondoy in 2009.

Aside from the Quezon City government, BEST’s other clients include the Pasig City local government, Mandaluyong City, Muntinlupa City, Marikina City, Municipality of Taguig, Asian Development Bank,  Manila International Airport Authority for the NInoy Aquino International Airport, Centennial Airport and the Manila Domestic Terminal.

IPM began in the early 1980’s initially as a construction firm and has since expanded into environment management, equipment trading, information technology and real estate development.

To further maximize the efficient use of its massive equipment resources, IPM real estate development and established IPM Realty & Development Corp., which has undertaken successful projects Northfields Executive Village in Malolos, Bulacan (120 hectares), Northfields Providence, and Northfields Estate, Tagaytay Tropical Greens (40 has.), Woodhills Residences in Tagaytay, Leee Gardens Twin Towers in Mandaluyong, Ciudad Del Oro Subdivision in  Meycauayan, Bulacan (40 has.), Sanctuario De Carmona Memorial Park in Carmona, Cavite and The Park Estate Columbary in Fort Bonifacio.

IPM has also been involved in various phases of development projects with the country’s leading developers which include, Robinsons Land, SM Prime Holdings, Megaworld, Empire East, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Fort Bonifacio Development Corp., Uniwide Sales, Jardine Properties, Daiichi Properties, Asia Cathay Realty Corp. and Rockwell Land.