Directories Phils mulls IPO

Directories Philippines Corp. (DPC), the pioneer and biggest publisher of telephone directories in the Philippines, is looking into the possibility of undertaking an initial public offering (IPO) in the near term, a top company official said.

In an interview at the sidelines of the annual conference of Asian Directory Publishers Associations Inc. (ADPAI) in Tagaytay City, DPC president Ricardo Bautista said a number of big investment banks have proposed to underwrite the IPO in case the company decides to undertake the capital-raising process.

"We have recently received various proposals from investment houses such as Morgan Stanley for a possible IPO," Bautista said.

Though they are seriously considering the proposal as most of their counterparts in the Asian region are already listed in their respective stock exchanges, Bautista admitted that they are contemplating of listing their shares only within the next five years. 

"At present, we do not see the urgency of listing our shares in the stock market. But we are seriously looking into it," he said.

If they decide to list, he said they would probably offer 30 percent stake to the public. "To make it (IPO) worthwhile, it would not be below 30 percent."

Bautista said they may use the proceeds from the IPO exercise for expanding its operations. "But right now, we still do not need to raise additional capital. Maybe for our future expansion."

He said the future expansion program of the company would involve investment in software that would enable them to use other forms of media to promote their business.

For the past two years, Bautista said DPC, a 100 percent Filipino-owned company, had poured in about P100 million in investments to enhance the company’s capability to reach out to a wider market through the use of other media such as Internet and mobile phones.

He said the company has also invested in improving its present publications of yellow pages.

The DPC official said they need to put in more capital into improving its products and services with the emergence of "new yellow pages business models".

Currently, the yellow pages industry is fighting to maintain its importance in the media marketplace.

ADPAI is a non-profit association composed of companies involved in the telephone directory business in Asia. It establishes a forum for members to exchange knowledge, experiences, information and ideas.

DPC currently publishes 35 telephone directories for Metro Manila and all major population centers in the country.

DPC was established in 1989, when it took over the operations of GTE Directories Corp., which established the Philippine branch in 1957. DPC employs close to 250 people who boast of over 2,000 years of collective directory publishing experience unparalleled in the Philippines and probably in Asia.

DPC is the exclusive sales representative in the Philippines of the telephone directory publishers of the following countries: Australia, Brunei,China (Shanghai),Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea / Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and United Arab Emirates.