PLDT Inc. on Monday said that data center unit VITRO Inc. was moving forward with plans to go public as a real estate investment trust (REIT).
VITRO plans to sell up to 1,913,043,500 secondary common shares, with an over-allotment option of up to 286,956,500 shares, at P11 apiece in an initial public offering (IPO) that could generate a total of P24.20 billion.
“Today’s filing marks an important step in our efforts to unlock value from PLDT Group’s digital infrastructure portfolio while supporting the continued expansion of our data center platform,” ePLDT and VITRO President and CEO Victor Genuino said.
“As demand for secure, resilient, and scalable digital infrastructure continues to grow, the proposed IPO creates an opportunity for investors to participate in the growth of one of the country’s most critical digital infrastructure sectors,” he added.
Net proceeds received by ePLDT from the sale are expected to be used for reinvestment and to pay off debt.
PLDT said VITRO was in the process of changing its corporate name to VITRO REIT Inc.
VITRO’s initial portfolio is expected to comprise eight stabilized, income-generating data center assets that can support a fully functional IT workload of approximately 24 megawatts.
UBS AG, Singapore Branch and BPI Capital Corporation will act as the lead international underwriter and the domestic lead underwriter, respectively, and will be the joint global coordinators and bookrunners for the offering.
PLDT’s share price went up by P49, or 4.46 percent, to close at P1,148 on Monday amid a 1.63-percent plunge for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.
