Villar Group eyes at least P10 billion from IPO of 3 units

MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Manny Villar, the country’s richest man,  plans to raise at least P10 billion from the stock market this year through the public listing of three more business segments – coffee, power, and real estate investment trust (REIT).

In a recent press briefing, Villar said they intend to list the group’s coffee business, known primarily as The Coffee Project, although he said there are other brands in the coffee group, which would be a food and beverage play in an initial public offering targeted to raise over P1 billion.

He said they are targeting to list the coffee business before the end of the year, aiming to expand the number of stores to around 200 from about 100 stores at present.

The other business segment, he said, is a power company which services small power utilities group (SPUG) areas or those not connected to the grid.  There is no IPO size yet for this.

Including the previously announced P9.18-billion IPO of VistaREIT Inc. or VREIT, the Villar Group may have a total of three stock market listings this year, raising money from the public to finance the growth of the respective businesses.

For VREIT, Villar said he is optimistic about the prospects of a reinvigorated economy due to the easing of restrictions.

VREIT, he said, would also benefit from its synergy with the group’s retail ecosystem. VREIT accounts for 68 percent of total portfolio gross leasable area (GLA) and contributed 77 percent of rental income as of end-2021.

VREIT’s initial portfolio consists of 10 community malls and two PEZA-accredited office buildings, making it the first REIT in the country with community malls comprising majority of its offering.

It has 256,404 square meters of aggregate GLA—with a 97 percent occupancy rate.

The listing of VREIT is targeted this quarter, the power company may list in the third quarter, and the coffee business in the fourth.

Last year, the Villar Group listed AllDay Marts Inc, operator of AllDay Supermarkets, raising P4.52 billion.