JG Summit raises P9B

MANILA, Philippines - JG Summit Holdings Inc., the investment holding firm of tycoon John Gokongwei, has raised nearly P9 billion from an overnight share sale.

This marked the second major fundraising of the conglomerate to pay for the P72-billion worth of minority stake in power distribution giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

In a regulatory filing, JG Summit said it sold on Monday 220 million shares “via an accelerated overnight equity placement at a price of P40 per share through a placement of 98.08 million treasury shares and an additional placement of 121.91 million common shares from selling shareholders.”

JG Summit raised P8.8 billion from the share sale. The stocks were sold at a 4.07-percent discount to the P41.70 closing price on Monday.

“The proceeds from the offering will be used to partially fund the Meralco acquisition and for general corporate purposes,” JG Summit said.

“The transaction was done in order to widen the shareholder base of the company, and as a response to strong demand for the company’s stock,” it added.

CLSA Ltd. and UBS AG acted as joint bookrunners for the overnight transaction.

Late in September, the Gokongwei family’s listed holding firm struck a deal to buy a 27-percent stake in Meralco for P72 billion from San Miguel Corp., which is focusing on various investment opportunities like infrastructure projects and oil and gas acquisitions.

JG Summit earlier announced its plan to secure two-thirds of the purchase price through bank loans and bond issuances while the remaining amount would be financed by equities.

Last month, JG Summit unloaded a portion of its stake in snacks giant Universal Robina Corp. for approximately P12 billion.

For its part, JG Summit will again be partnering with the group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan. In 2011, telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) acquired Sun Cellular operator Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. from the Gokongwei family through a P69.2-billion shares-wap deal.

JG Summit is also venturing into infrastructure projects as it formed a joint venture firm with Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. to bid for the expansion and operation of the P17.5-billion Mactan Cebu International Airport.

In the nine months to September this year, JG Summits profits slipped 21.8 percent to P8.41 billion from P10.76 billion a year ago due to depreciation of the peso against the dollar.