MPIC hospital unit files for P75.1-B IPO

The healthcare unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) has filed for an initial public offering of up to P75.1 billion before the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc. plans to offer up to 35,812,919 common shares and a secondary offer of up to 381,271,010 common shares, according to its prospectus released by corporate regulator on Wednesday.

At a maximum price of P182 per share, the maiden share sale offer comes with an overallotment option of 40,771,095 common shares.

“Assuming full exercise of the overallotment option, the total proceeds for the selling shareholder will be up to P75.1 billion,” the prospectus read.

The offer period is scheduled to begin on November 18, 2019, until November 22, 2019.

UBS AG is the sole global coordinator for the IPO.

The company also tapped Merrill Lynch Pte Ltd., CLSA Limited, J.P Morgan Securities Plc., and UBS AG as joint international bookrunners.

The offer shares will be listed and traded on the Main Board of the PSE under the trading symbol “HOSP.”

Thirty percent IPO shares will be offered to all the trading participants of the Philippine Stock Exchange, with 20% going to PSE trading participants and 10% to local small investors (LSIs).

Proceeds from the IPO will be used for expansion such as investments in additional hospitals and additional investments in the group's existing hospitals to support growth.

The company has been planning to go public by 2019.

Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings has a stake in Asian Hospitals and Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Makati Medical Center, Sacred Heart Hospital, Manila Doctors Hospital, and Davao Doctors Hospital. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News