Quick takes from around the market
Solar Philippines [SPNEC 1.51 1.95%] [link] stock rights offering (SRO) shares list today. SPNEC’s market price has dropped to within P0.01 of the SRO’s P1.50 price, so it’s looking less and less likely that SRO buyers will get to profit from the SRO’s discount.
MB Quick Take: As mentioned before, let’s watch the volume this morning to see if we can get a feel for what the average SPNEC SRO buyer is thinking. SPNEC has averaged about 64 million shares traded per day over the last 30 trading days, with a “normal” day being anywhere from like 30 to 75 million shares traded.
MRC Allied [MRC 0.18 2.21%] [link] board approved plan to negotiate the acquisition of 5G Security (5GS), a security solutions provider. MRC said that 5GS had total assets of P249 million, but that it would undertake a due diligence process on the acquisition to determine if it would proceed. The MRC board also approved an increase in the par value of MRC’s stock, from P0.10/share to P1.00/share.
MB Quick Take: These two parties have a history together. Back in 2020, MRC paid P250 million for a 75% stake in Kerberus Corp, a (then) subsidiary of 5GS. It’s not clear from the press releases how much of that P249 million in assets that 5GS currently has is related to the P250 million that MRC paid for Kerberus nearly two years ago, and there was no mention of the kind of debt that 5GS is carrying (if any) or the profitability of its business. MRC’s justification for its Kerberus acquisition was simply that it was a new holding company, and owning other companies is what holding companies do. I hope that the board provides a stronger strategic vision for this acquisition, especially if it ends up being larger and more complex.
Figaro [FCG 0.66 2.94%] [link] disclosed that the 8.61% stake owned by Jerry Liu’s personal corporation, Camerton Inc, would exit a year-long lockup and be active for trading on the morning of September 15th. The 400,000,000 shares will be tradeable this morning.
MB Quick Take: As with all shares exiting lockup, we’ll watch to see if there are any upticks in volume, but I don’t normally expect majority owners to drip-sell shares of their own companies. It’s not unheard of, but it’s far more likely for significant stakes held by minority shareholders that are coming out of lockup. Still, it’s worth watching just to check/verify.
PSE [PSE 159.50 0.06%] [link] is holding its “Road to IPO” conference today! This is a great event with many experienced and knowledgeable speakers on the benefits of going public, and some of the tips and tricks that can help make the process easier to navigate for companies that are new to the exchange. Click here to register.
MB Quick Take: While this conference is most applicable to executives looking to raise capital, there is some value to investors who are looking to invest in any of the upcoming IPOs: knowing what an owner “gets” out of going public can help frame your analysis of an IPO prospectus. It’s free knowledge!
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Merkado Barkada's opinions are provided for informational purposes only, and should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any particular stock. These daily articles are not updated with new information, so each investor must do his or her own due diligence before trading, as the facts and figures in each particular article may have changed.
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