SAN MIGUEL BREWERY INC. IS TOP PERFORMER
FOR '08, BAGS PRESTIGIOUS REGIONAL AWARD

For pushing through with its initial public offer despite highly adverse market conditions and for outperforming all other newly-listed stocks in 2008, San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB) was given top honors at the Asset Asian Awards, organized by the influential regional finance magazine, The Asset.

In ceremonies held in Hong Kong, the publication named SMBI’s US$169M IPO “Best Small-Cap Equity Deal” citing it as “one of the handful (in 2008) to have managed to stay above water”.

The Asset, a specialized magazine catering to players in the Asian financial services industry, gave SMB its prestigious Triple A award.

It said that the IPO’s success partly had to do with the shares’ low offer price of P8.00, or a 12 percent discount to its close comparables Hite Brewery and BAT Malaysia.

The stock traded at 6.25 percent higher from its debut price to P8.50.

“Despite adverse equity and credit market conditions, SMB’s discount versus its closest peers helped the deal draw a strong demand from investors,” it said.

The international institutional tranche was 1.6 times oversubscribed with US$162 million worth of demand while the domestic tranche drew US$44 million in subscription.

The magazine also cited the stock’s consistent performance throughout the year, and for besting eight other companies that debuted in the stock market, saying “since its listing in May 2008, SMB has traded above its offer price”.

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