LT Group to sell shares overseas

MANILA, Philippines - LT Group Inc., the flagship holding firm of tobacco, beer and airline magnate Lucio Tan, is proceeding with its overseas share sale in April.

The company is banking on the continued good performance of the stock market for the follow-on offering, its top executive said.

LT Group president Michael G. Tan told reporters that the share sale to overseas investors wil likely be conducted in April. “We will wait for the 2012 financials,” Tan said.

To ensure accurate price valuations, the Securities Regulation Code requires firms planning to sell shares in the local bourse to conduct the offering within 135 days from the last day covered by its most recent financial report.

In August, LT Group secured the board of directors’ approval for an equity placement abroad involving the shares held by its controlling shareholder, Tangent Holdings Corp., at a price to be determined at the end of the book-building exercise.

LT Group will sell as much as three billion new shares to beef up the group’s arsenal to prepare for the next wave of growth of its banking, tobacco, liquor, property and airline businesses. “We are optimistic. We do not know the market [performance] by then but we hope the good news continue,” Tan said.

Tan said the company has yet to determine the price of the shares to be sold. LT Group hired UBS Investments Philippines Inc. as financial adviser and sole bookrunner for the share sale.

LT Group serves as the umbrella company for Tan’s various businesses including Asia Brewery Inc., Fortune Tobacco Corp., Eton Properties Philippines Inc., Philippine Airlines, Air Philippines Corp., Philippine National Bank and Allied Banking Corp.

Tan said that company has good prospects this year, particularly due to the election season that will boost consumer spending.

In the nine months to September last year, LT Group’s net income fell to P2.5 billion from P3.08 billion a year ago as net sales slipped to P18.9 billion from P19.28 billion.