SBS IPO takes off, 9x oversubscribed

MANILA, Philippines - Institutional investors and high net worth individuals snapped up shares of SBS Philippines Corp., the chemical distributor’s underwriter said yesterday.

SBS is owned by the family of Necisto Sytengco, who is listed as the president and chairman of the company.

“It was nine times oversubscribed. Sytengco’s decades of experience servicing over 1,800 customers really sold the deal,” BDO Capital & Investment Corp. president Eduardo Francisco said.

The offer period started on July 28 and ended on Aug. 3 while listing date is on Aug.10.

Francisco said retail investors also scrambled to get an allocation and had to make do with minimal amounts.

The strong demand for SBS shares puts the company on track to raising P1.15 billion from the local bourse with the sale of 420 million common shares priced at P2.75 per piece.

Proceeds from the initial public offering would be used for production expansion, capital expenditures, refinancing requirements and working capital.

SBS is a major chemical supplier with a customer base of over 1,800. The company supplies a wide range of chemicals and ingredient products and it services the requirements of major industrial and manufacturing businesses in the country for various needs such as cleaning and sanitation, food ingredients, chemical manufacturing, personal care, crop protection and animal care among others.

It registered P933 million in sales last year, 18.7 percent higher than the P786 million posted in 2013.

The company was incorporated on July 17, 2001 and was formerly known as Sytengco Philippines Corp. prior to its change to its present name which was approved by the SEC in November 2014.

The Sytengco family presently owns 99.93 percent of SBS.  This would go down to 64.95 percent after the IPO.