PSE okays Xurpas listing

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has approved the P1.36 billion ($30.27 million) maiden share sale of mobile content provider Xurpas Inc.

Xurpas will sell up to 344 million common shares at the offer price of P3.97 ($0.09) per piece.

The final offer price is 5.2% lower though compared to the P4.19 ($0.09) indicative offer price previously set by Xurpas.

“We wanted to leave value on the table for investors and thus decided not to price at the maximum offer,” said Nico Jose Nolledo, Xurpas president.

The offer period will be from November 17 to 25 and the listing date has been set on December 2, 2014.

The shares will be listed under the symbol “X.” SB Capital is the sole issue manager, bookrunner, and lead underwriter.

Xurpas is offering 68.9 million shares, or around 20% of the total offer to trading participants of the PSE, while 34.4 million shares or about 10% of the total offer are allocated to local small investors.

Nolledo said they are pleasantly surprised by the strong interest from investors. To date, Xurpas shares are already 4 times oversubscribed.

“A good indication for the hot demand for the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) industry,” Nolledo said.

Expansion

Proceeds from the maiden offering are intended for domestic and regional expansion and acquisitions, further development and expansion of existing content, and general corporate purposes and working capital requirements.

Xurpas believes it is also in a strong position to expand its operations outside of the Philippines, eyeing Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Thailand.

The company intends to undertake operations within Southeast Asia by opening regional offices or strategic acquisitions of existing mobile consumer content developers with an established presence or existing relationship with major telecommunication firms in the region.

Its online casual games business, with operating margins of over 70%, is on track to become its largest line of business, Xurpas said.

Xurpas specializes in the creation and development of digital products and services for mobile end-users. It also creates, develops, and manages proprietary platforms for mobile operators.

To date, Xurpas is one of the largest independent mobile consumer content providers in the Philippines in terms of revenue. Its clients include Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, and Sun Cellular.

Xurpas also expects to end the year with P210 million ($4.67 million) net income and revenues of about P380 million ($8.46 million).

Founded by 3 young technology entrepreneurs – Nolledo, Raymond Gerard Racaza, and Fernando Jude Garcia, Xurpas is the 5^th company to be listed with the PSE this year.

To date, two companies have already conducted IPOs this year – DoubleDragon Properties, Inc and Century Pacific Foods Inc, and SSI Group Incorporated, which handles the Rustan’s Group’s retail operations.

Phoenix Semiconductor Philippines Inc is set to list with the PSE on December 1. – Rappler.com

*$1 = P44.93