Maynilad kicks off P34.3 billion share sale

Biggest since 2021

MANILA, Philippines — Maynilad Water Services Inc., the water concessionaire in Mega Manila’s West Zone,  yesterday kicked off its initial public offering (IPO) with the aim of raising as much as P34.3 billion – the biggest share sale in four years.

The IPO includes the offer and sale to the public of 1.66 billion common shares and to First Pacific Co. Ltd. of 24.9 million primary common shares, with an overallotment option of up to 249.05 million primary common shares and subject to the exercise of an upsize option of up to 354.7 million secondary common shares to be offered by shareholder Maynilad Water Holdings Co. Inc. (MWHCI).

The IPO shares are priced at P15 each.

The offer period will end on Oct. 27. Maynilad is expected to list its shares on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Nov. 7 under the trading symbol “MYNLD.”

Proceeds from the offer will be used to fund Maynilad’s capital expenditure requirements and for general corporate purposes.

Maynilad will not receive any proceeds from the sale of MWHCI’s shares in the event that the upsize option is exercised.

BPI Capital Corp. serves as the domestic lead underwriter for the IPO, while The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd., Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte. and UBS AG, Singapore Branch act as the international underwriters.

The International Finance Corp. and Asian Development Bank are the lead cornerstone investors of the IPO.

The domestic cornerstone investors that have confirmed their participation in the offer include BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co.–Trust Banking Group and Security Bank Corp.–Trust and Asset Management Group.

International cornerstone investors, meanwhile, are abrdn Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., The United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Maven Investment Partners Ltd.-Hong Kong Branch, Maybank Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd., Robeco Switzerland Ltd. and QRT Master Fund SPC–Torus Fund SP.

Maynilad will be the second company to list on the PSE this year, following Top Line Business Development Corp.’s P732.6-million IPO in April.

It is also the biggest IPO since May 2021, when Monde Nissin raised P48.6 billion from its own public offer.

Maynilad provides sustainable water and wastewater services for the West Zone, which spans 11 cities in Metro Manila, three of which it partially covers, as well as three cities and three municipalities in Cavite province.

Maya enables digital access

Meanwhile, Maya Philippines Inc. is making IPO participation more accessible to Filipinos through its stock investing feature, Maya Stocks, starting with Maynilad’s offer.

Through Maya Stocks, upgraded users can open and fund a brokerage account in minutes and view available IPOs directly within the Maya app. The service integrates with partner brokers DragonFi Securities Inc., F. Yap Securities Inc. (2TradeAsia) and Philstocks Financial Inc.

IPO subscriptions are completed through the participating brokers’ platforms, while Maya provides a secure and convenient channel for account opening and funding.

“Our goal has always been to make access to financial opportunities simpler and more inclusive,” said Shailesh Baidwan, Maya Group president and co-founder of Maya Bank.

“Maya Stocks brings IPO participation closer to consumers by embedding a secure, regulated process into the same app they already use every day,” Baidwan added.

According to Maya, its mobile-first experience simplifies what was once a multi-step process. Users can open a brokerage account with participating brokers, fund it instantly via their Maya Wallet with no transfer fees and view IPOs when available, all within the same familiar interface.

During the offer period, IPOs such as Maynilad’s will be visible on participating brokers’ homepages within the Maya app. The platform also enables seamless funding of brokerage accounts with no transfer fees.

Users subscribing to the Maynilad IPO can do so with no additional commission fees through the participating brokers’ simplified IPO channels, although regular stock trades will still be subject to standard commission fees.

Maya said the service would continue to support other IPOs of companies through its partner brokers.

The launch of IPO visibility on Maya Stocks forms part of the company’s broader goal to expand access to essential financial tools and bring more Filipinos into the formal financial system.

By integrating payments, banking, credit and investing into one ecosystem, Maya aims to bridge everyday financial activities with investment opportunities.

“This integration highlights how digital platforms can simplify access to IPOs – especially for first-time participants seeking secure and familiar tools,” the digital lender said.

Maya Bank is an online bank regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, with deposits up to P1 million per depositor insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. – Keisha Ta-asan