MANILA, Philippines — Upson International Corp., a leading retailer of personal computers and information technology products, will debut on the Philippine stock market today, April 3.
Upson will list on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) following an offering of 625 million primary common shares, with an over-allotment option of up to 62.5 million shares, priced at P2.40 per share.
The initial public offering (IPO) successfully raised P1.65 billion, which would fund the company’s store network expansion.
The company plans to open 250 stores from 2023 to 2027, or an additional retail space of 25,000 square meters.
For this year alone, Upson aims to open 50 stores within the National Capital Region and key cities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Upson president and CEO Arlene Sy said the company is happy to note the strong participation among institutional investors, with a significant majority of investors from foreign funds.
“This is a strong testament to their confidence in our company, the retail sector, and the Philippines at large,” Sy said.
The company tapped First Metro Investment Corp. as the issue manager, bookrunner and joint lead underwriter of the IPO. RCBC Capital Corp. was also joint lead underwriter.
Upson operates a nationwide retail network of 200 stores as of Sept. 30, 2022, with wholly owned retail brand outlets such as Octagon Computer Superstore, Micro Valley, Gadget King and Octagon Mobile, as well as concept and specialty stores like Acer, HP, Brother, and Silvertec in select locations.
“We understand the ever-growing need for electronic gadgets and accessories, and how it invites competition. Nevertheless, we believe that to maintain our market leadership and for a stronger presence, this will be attained by further establishing stores nationwide. Having a robust nationwide network also helps sustain our customers’ top-of-mind recall of our brands,” Sy said.
Upson reported a net income of P 400.23 million last year, up by 68.6 percent compared to P237.38 million a year ago, as net sales rose by 10.2 percent to P7.03 billion from P6.38 billion.