San Miguel secures greenlight for P20-B share sale

MANILA, Philippines — Corporate regulators have given San Miguel Corp. the go-signal to sell preferred shares, proceeds from which will fund big-ticket investments including the Bulacan Airport project and extension of one of Manila’s main railway. 

In a statement on Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said San Miguel was authorized to sell over P20 billion in preferred shares under the company’s shelf registration. That translates to 533,333,334 Series 2 preferred shares within a 3-year period.

Initially, SEC said San Miguel would offer 133,333,400 of the shares at a maximum price of P75 apiece. Shares will be traded at the Philippine Stock Exchange.

If there is high investor demand, the Ang-led conglomerate may opt to expand its original offer and sell 133,333,267 more preferred shares to public investors. Assuming the oversubscription option is fully exercised, and netting out taxes, San Miguel expects to raise P19.9 billion from the sale.

“The proceeds will be used for investments in the company’s existing businesses, including its Bulacan Airport Project and MRT-7 Project, and for general corporate purposes,” regulators said.

In the face of pandemic, San Miguel has pushed through building large-scale infrastructures, including the P735-billion Bulacan Airport meant as one of the alternatives to the overstretched Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila’s main gateway. The target is to complete the airport’s construction in 6 years.

In the area, San Miguel is also funding the P70.8-billion Metro Rail Transit-7 project that would see 14 stations linking North Avenue in Quezon City, the last northbound station at MRT-3, to San Jose del Monte in Bulacan. Project construction is already 60% complete.

Similar with other firms, San Miguel has struggled financially during the pandemic. The diversified conglomerate posted a net loss of P3.9 billion from January to June, reversing last year’s P26.15-billion profits.

On Wednesday, shares at the company inched up 0.3% to close at P98.9 apiece. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral