Noodle-maker Monde Nissin Files To Raise $1.3b In Largest-ever Philippine IPO

Philippine food maker Monde Nissin Corp has officially lodged its application with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to 63 billion pesos ($1.3 billion) in an initial public offering (IPO) that could become the country’s largest-ever listing.

The proposed Monde Nissin IPO will be bigger than the total of about $809 million raised in the Philippines market from four listings in 2020.

Monde Nissin, which makes the best-selling Lucky Me! instant noodles in the Philippines and meat alternative Quorn in the UK, announced Thursday that it has filed a registration statement with the SEC to issue up to 3.6 million shares at 17.50 pesos each.

The P63-billion gross proceeds exclude the proceeds from the exercise of an over-allotment option of up to 15% of the shares being offered, the company disclosed.

In Philippine filings, IPO prices are typically set far above final selling prices. Underwriting discounts and commissions, and other offering expenses payable by Monde Nissin are expected to be deducted from the gross proceeds.

The company said proceeds will be used for the expansion and enhancement of its production and technological capacities, including its businesses in the UK and other key markets.

“The timing of the offer, final offer price, the final number of offer shares, and allocation of the proceeds will depend on market conditions, the circumstances surrounding the offer, and will be subject to favorably securing the necessary regulatory approvals,” Monde Nissin said.

Aside from Lucky Me! noodles, Monde Nissin’s brand portfolio includes SkyFlakes crackers, Fita crackers, and Monde baked goods. The listing also comes nearly six years after the company acquired alternative meat maker Quorn in the United Kingdom for $831 million in what was considered a big-ticket deal from the Philippines.

UBS Group AG, Citigroup Inc, Credit Suisse Group AG, and JPMorgan Chase & Co are the joint global coordinators of the deal, while the local lead underwriters are BDO Capital & Investment Corp, BPI Capital Corp, and First Metro Investment Corp.

If the listing materialises, it would surpass Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc’s first-time share sale, which raked in $621.1 million in 2013, the largest in the country to date. Converge ICT Solutions Inc’s $600 million IPO last year was the country’s second-largest.

Monde Nissin’s SEC filing comes as the Philippines is expected to be the biggest IPO market in Southeast Asia this year, after years of being tagged as the region’s weakest.

As many as seven IPOs, including that of real estate investment trusts (REITs), are lined up to launch on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) before 2021 ends. Together, they could raise a record amount of over $3.3 billion, surpassing the total of $2.7 billion raised in the archipelago from 2016 to 2020.

National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, the local transmission operator partly owned by the State Grid Corporation of China, is also taking steps to push through its long-delayed IPO that would garner about $1 billion.