AYALA CORP. has no plans to divest or reduce its equity stake in GCash ahead of the electronic wallet platform’s planned initial public offering (IPO), the company’s president said.
“I don’t see us selling down, to be honest; this thing has a long way to go,” Ayala Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Cezar P. Consing told reporters last week.
“It is still early days. Hard to say. We have to watch the market,” he added.
In October last year, Ayala Corp. announced that it would sell its 50% stake in AC Ventures Holding Corp. (ACV) to Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. for a minimum of P18.4 billion.
ACV holds a 13% interest in Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt), which owns two fintech companies: G-Xchange, Inc., the operator of GCash, and Fuse Lending, a tech-based microlender.
Ayala Corp., through ACV, announced in August last year that it would raise its ownership in Mynt by purchasing an additional 8%, increasing its total shareholding to 13% for P286.4 billion.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, through its subsidiary MUFG Bank, Ltd., also entered into a binding agreement to invest in Mynt, acquiring an 8% stake, which brought GCash’s valuation to $5 billion.
On Friday, Globe Telecom President and CEO Ernest L. Cu said the company is considering offering a smaller IPO for GCash than the 20% minimum requirement set by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
Mr. Cu also noted that there is no set timeline for the GCash IPO, which is still being targeted as a local listing.
The PSE is aiming to facilitate six IPOs this year.
GCash services are currently available in 16 markets, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, and Taiwan. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
