Cirtek lines up acquisitions for international expansion

MANILA, Philippines - Listed semiconductor firm Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. is eyeing overseas acquisitions as part of its expansion program.

In a press briefing yesterday, Cirtek said bulk of the proceeds of its P2.88 billion follow-on offering would be used to fund its international expansion.

“We have several acquisition targets in the pipeline that is why we are back in the market,” said Cirtek chief finance officer Anthony Buyawe.

Cirtek chairman Jerry Liu said the company is interested in entities that are in “advanced technology.”

“Our acquisition will focus on wireless broadband industry,” he said.

Based on documents filed with securities regulators, Cirtek has earmarked P630.7 million for strategic acquisitions, P631.9 million for capital expenditures, P314.1 million for working capital requirements and P278.2 million for payment of financial obligations.

For its domestic operations, Buyawe said the company aims to double the capacity of its Laguna manufacturing plant to two billion chips a year.

Cirtek is also optimistic about the success of its new technology dubbed as TV White Space.

“There has been a tremendous growth in the number of connections to the Internet in the past decade. With connectivity now a basic need, this trend is expected to continue. But despite this growth, a large percentage is still unserved particularly in developing countries and certain regions in developed countries. Furthermore, with the demand increasing everyday, the networks are becoming congested in urban areas,” said Cirtek Advanced Technologies & Solutions Inc. CEO Alvin Guzon.

The company’s follow-on offering consists of up to 80 million primary common shares with an oversubscription option of up to 40 million secondary common shares.

The shares will be sold at a maximum offer price of P24 each share.

The final offer price will be determined on Oct. 21. The offering will run from Oct. 23 to 30 while the listing of the shares is scheduled on Nov. 5.

First Metro Investment Corp. is the issue manager and book runner while SB Capital Investment Corp. together with First Metro is joint lead underwriter. Since its initial public offering in 2011, Cirtek has been operating as a provider of semi-conductor outsources assembly and testing services to customers, who in turn provide these semiconductor packages to end applications.