THE PHILIPPINE subsidiary of Australian-Canadian mining company OceanaGold Corp. is targeting a public listing by May in compliance with its mining contract.
OceanaGold Corp. said in its updated prospectus dated Feb. 26 that the proposed initial public offering (IPO) for OceanaGold Philippines, Inc. (OGPI) is tentatively scheduled for settlement and listing on May 7.
OGPI operates the Didipio gold and copper mine in Nueva Vizcaya.
The tentative offer period will be from April 22 to 26, according to the revised prospectus.
The offer will comprise 20% of the issued and outstanding common shares of OGPI, totaling approximately 456 million common shares at a maximum price of P17.28 each. The offer exceeds the minimum requirement of 10% stipulated in the mining company’s renewed financial or technical assistance agreement (FTAA).
Sought for comment, China Bank Capital Corp. Managing Director Juan Paolo E. Colet said in a Viber message that OGPI’s IPO will gauge the readiness of the domestic market.
“This IPO will tell us whether the domestic market is ready for more equity offerings. OceanaGold might draw interest from investors who view gold as a hedge against inflation,” Mr. Colet said.
“Another attraction of this IPO is the company’s policy to pay at least 90% of its free cash flow as dividends to shareholders. The indicative dividend yield for 2025 is approximately 10.2%, which is quite compelling,” he added.
Based on prospectus, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pre-effective clearance will be on March 14, and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) board listing approval will follow on March 20.
Pricing is set for April 17, with the notice of the final offer price to the PSE and SEC scheduled for April 18, and the receipt of the permit to sell from the SEC expected on April 19.
The proceeds of the offer will be received by OceanaGold (Philippines) Holdings, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of OceanaGold Corp.
“(OceanaGold Corp.) will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the offer…because the offer and listing of the common shares on the PSE are being undertaken to comply with the conditions of the company’s renewed FTAA with the government,” it said.
The mining company tapped BDO Capital & Investment Corp. as the offer’s global coordinator and domestic underwriter and bookrunner. It also selected CLSA Ltd. as international underwriter.
“We are proud of Didipio’s track record as a proven high-quality, long-life, low-cost gold-copper mine and look forward to welcoming new Filipino and international shareholders to participate in the expected robust free cash flow generation, consistent dividend payments, and future potential at Didipio,” OceanaGold Corp. President and CEO Gerard Bond said in a previous statement.
For 2024, the PSE is expecting to have six IPOs. Another planned IPO is Saavedra-led Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. which was postponed to the second quarter from the initially planned listing in March. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
