PROPERTY COMPANY OF FRIENDS EYES JANUARY INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

With only less than two months left in 2014, property developer Pro-Friends Group, Inc. may no longer be able to conduct its initial public offering this year, and is now getting ready for what could be its plan B to become the first company to enter the local stock market in 2015 instead.

Formerly known as Amicus Holdings, Inc., Pro-Friends is planning to sell up to 385.750 million shares at P20 per share to raise proceeds of about P7.7 billion. These shares should have been offered to the public from October 8 to October 14 and were supposedly listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on November 12.

Roberto Juanchito Dispo, president of First Metro Investments Corp. (FMIC), one of the underwriters for the initial public offering (IPO), said the market debut of Pro-Friends may just take place in January.

“The official listing at the PSE may just occur in] January but the offer period may be in December. So Pro-Friends will also be the first company to list next year,” Dispo said.

Until now, the company is still waiting for the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be able to proceed with the share sale.