The International Finance Corp. (IFC), the private-sector investment arm of the World Bank Group, is planning to invest P4.4 billion in Mynt, the parent company of GCash, as a cornerstone investor in what is expected to become the largest initial public offering (IPO) in Philippine history.
The proposed investment, equivalent to about $70 million, will come from IFC’s own account and will be made through common shares in Mynt. IFC said the investment is intended to support the expansion of digital financial services in the Philippines, including lending opportunities for consumers and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
IFC is expected to join more than 20 cornerstone investors in the IPO. The group includes major global investment firms such as BlackRock, T. Rowe Price and Capital Research, while Philippine institutions are also participating in the offering. Cornerstone investors have committed to buy about P36.5 billion worth of shares, according to the preliminary prospectus.
Mynt’s IPO could raise as much as $1.3 billion, although market reports have indicated that the final deal could be priced below the maximum P10-per-share offer price initially disclosed. A separate report cited people familiar with the transaction as saying the offering could raise about P60 billion at roughly P6.50 per share. The final price, however, has not yet been set.
The Philippine Stock Exchange has approved Mynt’s application to list its common shares on the Main Board. The planned offering consists of up to 1.61 billion primary shares and 6.42 billion secondary shares, with an additional overallotment option of up to 1.2 billion secondary shares.
The primary portion of the offering is expected to provide Mynt with funds for expanding its digital financial services, developing new products and other general corporate purposes. The company operates GCash, one of the Philippines’ most widely used digital financial platforms.
IFC said its investment is also linked to efforts to broaden financial inclusion by helping underserved individuals and businesses gain greater access to digital financial products. Mynt will also be required to establish an environmental and social management system consistent with IFC’s environmental and social standards as part of the investment.
The planned listing has attracted significant international attention because of GCash’s large domestic user base and the scale of the transaction. A successful IPO would surpass Monde Nissin’s 2021 offering, which raised about P55.9 billion, making Mynt’s listing potentially the biggest share sale ever completed on the Philippine stock market.
The offering is currently scheduled to have its price-setting date on October 1, with the public offer period running from October 6 to 12. Mynt is tentatively scheduled to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange on October 20, subject to regulatory and other conditions.
With IFC joining a growing list of cornerstone investors, attention now turns to Mynt’s final offer price, the amount ultimately raised and investor demand once the IPO opens. The transaction could become a major test of investor appetite for large technology and financial-services listings in the Philippine market.
