AREIT [AREIT 38.75 0.39%] [link] listing of 483 million shares issued to Ayala Land [ALI 27.80 unch] was approved by the PSE, with a mandatory 180-day lock-up that prevents ALI from selling or transferring those shares until March 7, 2023.
MB Quick Take: These were shares that were issued to ALI out of AREIT’s authorized (but unissued) shares, which AREIT used as payment to acquire properties from ALI. The shares were already counted as “outstanding” for the purposes of dilution and AREIT’s share price when the shares were officially transferred; this transaction simply registers the ALI-owned shares with the PSE’s system and makes them (theoretically) tradeable. Well, I guess not until the shares come out of lock-up!
Raslag [ASLAG 2.25] [link] buy-back boys are at it again! ASLAG’s chairman and director, through their privately-owned holding company, T.G.N. Realty Corporation (TGN), purchased 500,000 shares of ASLAG on Thursday, for an average price of just under P2.27/share.
MB Quick Take: On some days, this kind of insider buying is hardly noticeable, as TGN’s buying activity takes up a super-small proportion of the day’s total sales volume in ASLAG stock. But, on other days, like that Thursday, TGN’s activity can “feel” far more significant: its purchases accounted for 10% of the shares traded on that day. ASLAG shareholders are probably pretty excited by the ownership group’s willingness to buy its stock back at a premium to its P2.00/share IPO price, but at some point, the well will run dry. It will be interesting to see if ASLAG will maintain its momentum once the ownership group runs out of public float runway to conduct further insider purchases.
Prime Infra [PFR 14.60 pre-SEC] [link] in the middle of its “anchor roadshow”, where the underwriters and PFR’s owners have meetings with potential large (anchor) investors to get a feel for the market’s demand for PFR shares. The group has held meetings with potential investors in Singapore, Malaysia, and Manila, and will be holding meetings in the US and UK this week.
MB Quick Take: Ever heard of the saying, “it’s worth what someone is willing to pay for it”? Well, that’s what’s happening here. They’re stomping around all the big-money centers, armed with a slide deck, nice suits, and plenty of coffee, and they’re trying to see what these groups will pay for the shares. Nearly everyone they speak with will be interested, but “interest” is on a sliding scale of price. The key is to find the highest price that will predictably sell all of the shares that need to be sold. Too under-valued, and Enrique Razon will end up leaving a lot of money on the table. Too over-valued, and investors may be turned-off by prolonged poor performance. These are serious meetings with very important implications for the price of the IPO going forward.
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