Sometimes a deal comes along that redefines a sector or a country and completely turns sentiment on its head. Yesterday SM Investments of the Philippines did just that, resolutely confirming that the Philippines is back from international equity no-mans land, with a deal that has broken all the records.
The deal priced at Ps250 a share, bang in the middle of the indicative range of Ps230-Ps270 a share. Selling 115 million shares, the IPO raised Ps28.75 billion $528 million, making this by far the largest Philippine IPO ever. The previous holder of that title was Petron, whose IPO raised Ps12 billion or $400 million, at then exchange rates....