Del Monte Pacific sets $180-M rights offer

MANILA, Philippines - Food processing giant Del Monte Pacific Ltd. (DMPL) has secured the green light from reugulators for its $180-million stock rights offering in Singapore and the Philippines to raise funds to pay off obligations.

In a disclosure, DMPL said it would conduct the rights offer from Feb. 5 to 23. One rights share will be offered for every 2.029 ordinary shares held by an existing investor.

“The company is pleased to announce that it has on Jan. 14, 2015 obtained the Securities and Exchange Commission’s confirmation of exempt transaction that the Philippine rights issue is exempt from the registration requirements of the Philippine Securities Regulation Code, and the company has also on Jan. 20, 2015 obtained the Philippine Stock Exchange’s  approval for the additional listing of the rights shares on the main board of the PSE,” the company listed in both Singapore and the Philippines said.

DMPL is looking to offer up to 641.90 million new ordinary shares to its shareholders.

DMPL intends to price the offer price within the discount range of 20 percent to 25 percent to a “reference price.”

BPI Capital Corp. has been tapped as the lead manager and lead underwriter for the Philippine rights offer while DBS Bank, Ltd has been assigned for the Singapore rights issue.

DMPL has set a tentative listing date on March 4.

The company said it plans to use the net proceeds of the proposed rights issue to repay the $165-million bridging facility from the Bank of the Philippine Islands that it had obtained to partially finance the acquisition of the consumer food business of US-based Del Monte Corp. last year.

DMPL completed the acquisition of Del Monte Foods Inc. (DMFI) in February 2014 for nearly $1.7 billion, jumpstarting the transformation of the former into a global branded food and beverage firm.

The acquisition was funded by a $970-million debt and $705-million equity, of which Del Monte financed by borrowing $630 million to add to the $75 million of its own money.

DMPL owns the Del Monte brand in the Philippines where it is the market leader across major food and beverage categories while DMFI owns the Del Monte brand rights for processed food products in the US and South America.