Synergy lists follow-on offer shares

Synergy Grid and Development Philippines, Inc. (SGP), the holding firm that has a controlling stake in National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), publicly listed its shares from its follow-on offering (FOO) on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Wednesday.

SGP has set the price of its FOO of 1,053,500,000 primary common shares with an overallotment option of up to 101,000,000 secondary shares at P12 per common share.

SGP will use the proceeds to directly subscribe to non-voting preferred shares that will be issued by NGCP. Proceeds from the issuance of the non-voting preferred shares will be utilized by NGCP to finance its capital expenditure requirements and related cost and expenses.

The grid operator is committed to invest approximately P440 billion across 211 projects in 13 years. These projects will support the growing electricity demand in the country and to make the country’s power backbone continuously reliable.

NGCP is the sole and exclusive operator of the Philippines’s transmission network, linking power generators and distribution utilities to deliver electricity to end-users nationwide. It holds a 25-year concession and a 50-year congressional franchise to expand and operate the country’s power transmission grid.

“Synergy Grid is very excited to be doing this follow on offering on the Philippine Stock Exchange today. As the indirect controlling shareholder of NGCP, this milestone marks SGP’s dedication and commitment to fulfill NGCP’s mandate as the sole power transmission service provider in the Philippines,” said SGP President and CEO Paul Sagayo.

Sagayo and PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon led the listing event and bell-ringing ceremony.

SGP Chairman Henry Sy Jr., Vice-Chairman Robert Coyiuto Jr., other officials from SGP, PSE and NGCP also participated in the event online.

In his welcome remarks during the listing ceremony, Monzon said the warm reception by institutional and retail investors to the FOO indicates “their desire to be part owners, even if only through SGP’s 40 percent indirect ownership, in the sole power transmission operator in the country.”

“Adding an LSI (local small investor) component to this FOO instantly broadened the investor base of SGP to include more retail investors who would not have otherwise been able to buy shares in SGP because of the overwhelming demand from institutional investors.”

SGP indirectly controls 60 percent of the outstanding capital stock of NGCP, SGP’s sole operating asset, with an effective equity interest of 40.2 percent.

Shares of SGP plunged 97 percent during the resumption of its trade on Wednesday, following the listing of its follow-on offer of primary and secondary common shares.

Synergy Grid shares fell to P12.60 per share, down 97 percent from its previous close of P395.80 per share in May.

The company’s shares have been suspended for trading since May after its public float level dropped below the minimum requirement of 20 percent.

Its share price, however, gained P0.60 compared with its follow-on offering price of P12.

Its gain runs counter to the general market decline, which saw the benchmark PSE index losing 65.99 points to close at 7,375.68 points.