THE proposed sale of secondary shares in Steniel Manufacturing Corp. will enable the company to meet the minimum public ownership requirements and lift its trading suspension, some analysts said on Monday.
Steniel (Netherlands) Holdings B.V. and Greenkraft Corp. are actively selling over a hundred million listed shares in Steniel Manufacturing, as per a regulatory filing by the listed company.
The sale would raise its public float to 22.26%, China Bank Capital Corp. Managing Director Juan Paolo E. Colet said in a Viber message.
“As a step toward lifting the trading suspension on the company’s shares, it is a bit of good news to minority shareholders, but what is crucial is the final execution of the sale,” Mr. Colet said.
Steniel Manufacturing Corp. has identified the two parties as the selling shareholders in connection with the sale of a combined 130 million listed shares.
The company said that both Steniel Netherlands and Greenkraft are discussing the terms of the sale with an unrelated prospective buyer, according to a disclosure to the stock exchange.
This move follows the suspension of trading in Steniel Manufacturing shares by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) due to the company’s public float falling to 13%, which is below the PSE’s minimum requirement of 20%.
“The sale is in line with the company’s action plan to increase its public ownership. By converting the 130 million shares of Steniel Netherlands and Greenkraft to public-owned shares through the sale transaction, STN’s free float level should increase,” Unicapital Securities, Inc. Senior Equity Research Analyst Carlos Angelo O. Temporal said.
The company did not disclose additional information about the move, but it said that the parties have not yet agreed to and executed the relevant deeds for the sale of shares.
“The company shall inform the Exchange as soon as the parties have agreed and executed the relevant deeds of absolute sale of share,” Steniel Manufacturing said.
Incorporated in 1963, Steniel Manufacturing and its subsidiaries engage in the business of manufacturing, processing, and selling various paper products, paperboard, and corrugated carton containers. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
