Upson says IPO draws significant  participation of foreign investors

UPSON International Corp. had significant institutional investor participation from foreign funds during its offer period from March 21 to 27, a company official said.

“We are happy to note that we had a healthy participation of institutional investors, with a significant majority of investors from foreign funds which is a strong testament to their confidence in our company,” said Upson President and Chief Executive Officer Arlene Louisa T. Sy in a statement over the weekend.

Upson is set to offer its shares on April 3 in an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise up to P1.65 billion for its store network expansion.

According to its final prospectus, the company will offer about 625 million common shares with an over-allotment option of 62.5 million common shares. These are priced at P2.40 apiece.

The company estimates net proceeds from the IPO to be at P1.42 billion, which will be used to fund its store network expansions and to improve its supply chain and logistics.

It plans to open 250 stores from 2023 to 2027, or an additional retail space of 25,000 square meters.

For the year, the company seeks to open 50 stores within the National Capital Region and key cities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

“We believe that to maintain our market leadership and for a stronger presence, this will be attained by further establishing stores nationwide. Having a robust nationwide network also helps sustain our customers’ top-of-mind recall of our brands,” Ms. Sy said.

The company tapped First Metro Pacific Corp. as the issue manager, bookrunner and joint lead underwriter of the IPO.

Meanwhile, RCBC Capital Corp. was also tapped as a joint underwriter.

Upson is an information technology retailer with about 200 stores nationwide as of September 2022. — Adrian H. Halili