The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the green light to Chelsea Logistics Corp (CLC) for its IPO.
SEC commission secretary Arman Pan said the Dennis Uy-owned shipping company has been cleared to offer 546.6m new shares for up to PHP 14.63 each, raising as much as PHP 8bn ($157.58m), the Inquirer daily reported.
The deal should go through by the end of July. Investors will get their hands on 30% of the tanker company's stock.
CLC will spend up to PHP 4bn of the proceeds on the acquisition of other shipping and logistics companies.
About PHP 2.7bn will quickly go on seven vessels, with more likely.
The group, through Chelsea Shipping, Trans Asia Shipping and 2Go, has a fleet of 57 tankers and ro-paxes.
Plans include acquiring MR tankers to "capture regional shipping markets,” as well as larger ro-ro and passenger vessels, other tankers and tugs.
The company wants to expand into new routes and could acquire or upgrade ports and a shipyard.
CLC posted a net income of PHP 132m last year, a 35% jump from 2015’s PHP 98m, according to company documents.
Revenue rose to PHP 2.9bn, up 16%. It expects growth to continue.
