NGCP majority owner Synergy Grid files for P28.86-B public offering

Synergy Grid & Development Phils., Inc., the majority owner of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), has filed for a P28.86-billion public offering.

In a statement, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it received Synergy Grid's registration statement for its plan to offer 1,053,500,000 common shares at an offer price of P15 to P25 per share, with an overallotment option of up to 101,000,000 common shares.

This will allow the company to raise up to P28.86 billion.

The corporate regulator said Synergy Grid will use net proceeds to buy non-voting preferred shares of the NGCP, which in turn will utilize it to finance its capital expenditure requirements.

The follow-on offering of Synergy Grid could pave the way for the backdoor entry of the NGCP on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

The NGCP is the private operator of the country’s power grid. It is 60% owned by Synergy Grid and 40% owned by State Grid Corp. of China.

The law requires the NGCP to sell at least 20% of its shares to the investing public within 10 years from the start of operations.

The 10-year period, however, has already lapsed in 2019. The company asked the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for an extension, citing volatile market conditions.

The company tapped BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan Securities plc, and UBS AG Singapore Branch as the joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the offer.

BDO Capital & Investment Corporation will serve as sole domestic coordinator and, together with BPI Capital Corporation and PNB Capital and Investment Corporation, as joint domestic lead underwriter and joint bookrunner for the transaction. — BM, GMA News