Institutional equities broker Decker & Co. announced today the
completion of a stock offering for Philippines-based Xurpas, Inc.
(PSE:X) in which it served as Joint Coordinator with SB Capital. Xurpas
successfully completed an accelerated overnight placement of 155,400,000
shares at Php16.00 per share. The placement was priced at an 11.9%
discount to the 30-day average price of Php18.15 per share.
The overnight placement was subscribed to by 21 global funds including
Philippine QIBs and funds across Asia, Europe and the U.S. It was
structured as a partial top-up, in which Xurpas’ founders sold shares
and repurchased a portion of those newly issued, and effectively
increased the free float level of Xurpas to about 28% from 20% prior to
the transaction.
Commenting on the deal structure, Decker & Co. founder and CEO Mark
Decker said, “The structure and ease of the transaction is important for
both the issuer and for global fund investors. In this case, the
placement was a partial top-up offering, which was popular in the last
decade, and we feel it is a good structure for smaller companies. Decker
& Co., along with our local partners throughout ASEAN, looks to use this
structure in future transactions as well.”
“The key takeaway from a deal like this one is global funds’ interest in
high-quality companies,” Decker said. “We’ve been able to introduce
quality companies and management teams in the U.S. and globally because
we are continually digging to find the ‘diamonds’ in Asia, some of which
get little attention from our peers. The breadth of interest in the
Xurpas placement underscores global investors’ interest in these gems.”
Decker & Co. has introduced 47 management teams to U.S.-based global
investors over the past three years. “One of our focuses has been on
bringing smaller deals to the U.S., including as 144A offerings,” Decker
said. “We will continue focusing on quality companies in the $1 billion
market cap range and expect to see future transactions given global
investors’ keen interest in quality despite challenging market
conditions.”
ABOUT DECKER & CO
Decker & Co. is the leading Emerging and Frontier Asia specialist broker
in the U.S. Decker & Co. partners with leading local brokers in each
market to provide U.S. institutional investors unparalleled access to
the best local research and listed corporates. The firm’s principals
have been among the leading experts in Asian markets since the 1990s.
The firm’s clearing partner is Broadcort, a division of Bank of America
Merrill Lynch. Learn more at www.deckerco.com.
SAFE HARBOR
The information in this release may be based on management forecasts and
reflects prevailing conditions and our views as of this date, all of
which are accordingly subject to change. Past performance is not an
indication of future performance.
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