Fresh meat supplier North Star Meats Merchants Inc. shelved its planned P4.5-billion initial public offering on heightened market volatility and rising inflation rate, a top executive said Tuesday.
North Star president and chief executive Anthony Ng said in a letter to the stock exchange the company would fund its expansion projects from other sources.
The company, in consultation with local underwriters, decided to defer the IPO after conducting a book-building exercise, which is undertaken to determine investors’ appetite for the planned offering.
“While reception to the company and its plans has been positive, the company was constrained to defer the IPO due to increased market volatility amid inflationary concerns,” Ng said.
“The company intends to proceed with its expansion plans, albeit with an adjusted timetable and funding source. The company continues to believe in its growth prospects and hopes to be able to tap the capital markets in the future,” he said.
The meat vendor was supposed to offer up to 392 million common shares, with 58 million over-allotment shares. The IPO shares were priced at P10 apiece.
The offering was supposed to run from June 13 to 17, while the listing on the PSE was targeted for June 24.
North Star said earlier it planned to use the proceeds from the IPO to expand its cold chain facility in Bulacan and open a cold storage plant in Cebu.
Meanwhile, two companies are slated to list on the local bourse this month, including VistaREIT Inc. of the Villar family on June 15 and Balai ni Fruitas Inc. on June 30.
Six firms concluded their IPOs this year, including Haus Talk Inc., Citicore REIT Inc., Figaro Coffee Group Inc., Bank of Commerce, CTS Global Group Inc. and Raslag Corp.
Gadgets retailer Upson International Corp. also filed an application to raise P5.4 billion from an IPO.