I-Remit to raise as much as P811M from IPO

Non-bank remittance firm I-Remit, Inc., has filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission its application to offer shares to the public, an exercise which will raise for it as much as P811.28 million in proceeds. "The net proceeds from the primary offer, will be used to finance expansion in other countries, to augment working capital requirements, and to retire some of the company's short-term debts," said iRemit chairman and CEO Bansan Choa. The company will sell to the public a maximum of 140,604,000 common shares at an offer price of up to P5.77 per share. In a statement, the company said it targets to list its shares in the PSE on October 15, 2007, with the offer period tentatively scheduled from October 1 to 8, 2007. First Metro Investment Corporation has been appointed as iRemit's financial advisor/issue manager and underwriter for the initial public offering . In its application, iRemit said up to 107,417,000 new common shares will be offered by way of a primary offer and at most 33,187,000 existing shares will be offered through a secondary offer. The offer shares will represent 25 percent of the total issued and outstanding capital stock of the company after the IPO. Established in 2001, iRemit has grown to become the largest Filipino-owned, independent remittance company in the country. "At present, the company has operations in 22 countries across North America, Europe, Australia, Asia, the Pacific Isles, and the Middle East, with 364 outlets, associates and agents worldwide, and more than 2,000 pay-out stations throughout the Philippines," Choa said. "We believe that iRemit will be a worthy addition to the First Board of the PSE. In the fast-growing OFW remittance industry, iRemit, in only 6 years, has carved its own niche as a leader in the non-bank segment. As the preferred choice of over 700 thousand OFWs orldwide, iRemit helps facilitate the significant contribution of our OFW-heroes to the Philippine economy," said First Metro Investment executive vice president Jojo Marcelo. For the first half of 2007, the company has realized consolidated net income of P43.5 million, exceeding its full year consolidated net income of P42.5 million in 2006. iRemit is owned by a group of investors comprised of Star Equities Inc., JTKC Equities, Inc., Surewell Equities, Inc., and JPSA Global Services Company. Star Equities and JTKC Equities have investments in various firms involved in a range of industries from banking, real estate, manufacturing and hotel and resort operations. Among these are publicly-listed TKC Steel Corp., Sterling Bank of Asia, Discovery Chain of small luxury hotels, the Mansions Group of serviced apartments, and Kent Vinyl Tiles. Surewell Equities, on the other hand, is engaged in the development of low- to medium-cost housing in Calabarzon and Bulacan which also caters to the OFW market, as well as being a shareholder in Sterling Bank of Asia. - Cheryl Arcibal, GMANews.TV