Maynilad hopeful on IPO this year

MANILA, Philippines — Maynilad Water Services Inc. is looking to get its initial public offering (IPO) done this year, as discussions with banks are currently ongoing.

“They (Maynilad) are busy talking to the banks already because they are required by 2027 (to do the IPO),” Maynilad chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

“So they are trying to put it away this year or latest next year,” he said.

Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez said last year that the company, which under its franchise is required to list on or before January of 2027, is targeting to make its stock market debut either by April or July of 2025.

He also previously said that the company, which appointed HSBC, Morgan Stanley and UBS as its financial advisors, was targeting to apply by the first quarter.

At a special meeting in November last year, Maynilad’s board of directors approved the conduct of the IPO of the corporation’s common shares, subject to the registration requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the listing requirements of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Under Maynilad’s legislative franchise, the company must become a publicly listed firm on or before January 2027 and offer at least 30 percent of its outstanding capital stocks five years from the grant of the franchise.

Maynilad is the concessionaire of the government in providing water services in the West Zone of Metro Manila.

The company is jointly owned by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), DMCI Holdings of the Consunji family and Marubeni Corp. of Japan.

MPIC, which is also chaired by Pangilinan, owns about 53 percent of the water utility firm while DMCI and Marubeni hold 25 percent and 20 percent stake, respectively.