San Miguel Corp. Raises P30 Billion in Landmark Follow-on Preferred Share Offering

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has raised P30 billion from a follow-on offering (FOO) of preferred shares, cited as the country’s largest fundraising through an FOO in the last seven years. In a statement on Monday, the Philippine Stock Exchange said the conglomerate listed its Series 2V, 2W and 2X preferred shares on the local bourse under the ticker symbols SMC2V, SMC2W and SMC2X, marking the completion of the fundraising exercise. READ: SEC clears San Miguel’s P30-B follow-on offering PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon said the offering underscored SMC’s position as the country’s most active issuer of follow-on offerings in recent years. “SMC has raised the most capital from follow-on offerings in the market since 2020,” Monzon said. Including the latest issuance, SMC has raised a cumulative P146.65 billion through 11 preferred share subseries across five follow-on offerings since 2020, according to the PSE. Monzon said the company’s strong fundraising track record reflected sustained investor confidence in its preferred shares. “With a track record like that, SMC might as well stand for stock market champion—at least in terms of fundraising,” he said. He added that the latest offering was 3.27 times oversubscribed, highlighting robust demand from investors despite a higher interest rate environment. The newly listed preferred shares carry different fixed dividend rates depending on the series. SMC2V offers an annual dividend rate of 8.0401 percent; SMC2W carries 8.3570 percent, while SMC2X offers the highest rate at 8.6483 percent. The successful fundraising adds another milestone to SMC’s capital-raising efforts through the domestic equities market. Preferred shares have become one of the conglomerate’s primary funding instruments, allowing it to tap retail and institutional investors while diversifying its financing sources. READ: San Miguel Q1 profit nearly halved For the PSE, the listing also reinforces the role of the capital market in helping large Philippine corporations raise long-term funds. The exchange has been encouraging more listed firms to return to the market for follow-on offerings as investor participation continues to deepen. The P30-billion issuance is expected to further strengthen SMC’s access to capital while expanding the roster of preferred securities available to investors on the local stock exchange. INQ