7 banks in EDC shortlist of possible IPO advisers

The PNOC-Energy Development Corp. (EDC) has made a shortlist of local and foreign banks that will possibly handle its planned initial public offering (IPO) which is tentatively scheduled before yearend.

EDC chairman and president Sergio Apostol said the list includes the Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines, Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley and three others which he refused to reveal.

Apostol said they are planning to undertake the IPO within the year if possible. "It will depend on the market. But we hope to choose the financial advisor before the end of the year," he said.

He said under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) or Republic Act 9136, EDC is required to sell its assets to the public.

Based on an initial privatization plan drawn up a few years back, EDC will sell about 40 percent of its shares to a strategic investor while the remaining 40 percent will be retained by the mother firm PNOC, and 10 to 20 percent will be sold to the public.

The EDC chief said they hope to raise about P20 billion by selling 20 percent of the company.

But he said that before undertaking the IPO, they should first assess the value of the company. "There is still an ongoing negotiation with a group that would assess our assets. We still have to come up with an updated valuation of our assets," Apostol said.

He said they have commissioned a group of retired Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials to do the valuation. "They would check the true value of our assets," he said.

EDC assets are estimated to have a value of P103 billion. "We have to know the real value. Some are saying it is P92 billion and others are saying it amounts to P102 billion," he added. – Donnabelle Gatdula