PSE authorizes the initial public offering P41.55-b of Converge

The Philippine Stock Exchange approved the initial public offering of P41.55 billion of Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions Inc. Converge, under the approved preliminary terms of the offering, will sell up to 1.73 billion common shares to a price of P24 each. The company will sell 480.8 million primary shares with an over-allotment option for another 225,791 million common shares and 1,025 million secondary shares. Shareholders include Comclark Network and Technology Corp. and Coherent Cloud Investments BV Converge ICT is expected to have a public float of 23 percent after the IPO, assuming the overallotment option is fully exercised. Converge plans to use the net proceeds from the main offering to finance capital expenditures to accelerate the deployment of its fiber network nationwide. Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte. And UBS AG Singapore Branch will act as joint global coordinators and joint booking brokers for the offering, along with Credit Suisse (Singapore) Limited and Merrill Lynch (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. as joint bookmakers international Converge ICT chose BPI Capital Corp. as sole local coordinator and joint local underwriter and BDO Capital & Investment Corp. as joint book broker. The president and CEO of PSE, Ramón Monzón, welcomed the IPO of the company. “Internet connectivity is a primary service right now, with online classes and arrangements to work from home due to the pandemic. We look forward to the debut of the company in the market, especially as the demand for Internet connection is expected to remain solid, ”said Monzón. Based on existing terms, Converge’s inaugural share offering could be the largest share sale in the country since the intellectual property of Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., which raised P28 billion in profits in 2013. Converge ICT will become the second company to conduct an IPO this year. The company started as a small cable television operator in Pampanga before rising as a provider of fiber Internet and digital consumer-centric services. Provides fiber optic Internet access to subscribers in Metro Manila and the provinces of Pampanga, Tarlac Bulacan, Cavite, Batangas and Pangasinan. He also plans to venture into Visayas and Mindanao for the next two years. Converge ICT said last month that it would bring ultra-broadband services to Mindanao by rolling out the fiber solution to Nokia’s home. With implementation, Converge ICT will connect more than 300,000 homes and businesses to ultra-fast, affordable and reliable broadband services over the next three years. Nokia’s fiber solution enables Converge ICT to offer a differentiated broadband service to customers and will play a key role in their ability to seamlessly evolve their network over time. Converge ICT had 731,563 subscribers in Luzon in June.