The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the planned P3.5 billion preferred shares offering by Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corporation.

In its meeting on October 26, the Commission En Banc resolved to render effective the registration statement of Cirtek covering 50 million preferred B-2 Subseries C and D shares at an offer price of P50 per preferred share, with an oversubscription option of up to 20 million preferred shares.

The preferred shares will be listed and traded on the Main Board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

The listed tech manufacturer expects to net P3.44 billion from the offer, assuming the oversubscription option is fully exercised.

Proceeds will be used for the refinancing of Cirtek’s existing debt, partial payment of maturing debt, capital expenditures/ equipment, as well as for the working capital of its subsidiaries.

The offering will run from November 25 to December 3, in time for the listing of the preferred shares on the PSE on December 10, based on the latest timetable submitted to the SEC.

Cirtek engaged PNB Capital and Investment Corporation as the sole issue manager, lead underwriter, and sole bookrunner for the offer.

Cirtek, through its semiconductor arm Cirtek Electronics Corporation (CEC), continues its collaboration with customers to develop expansion plans to address the global chip shortage that the industry is experiencing.

As quoted from the Integrated Circuit (IC) Insight’s market research report, the worldwide IC market is expected to display an increase of 24 percent growth this year which will be driven by a 21 percent jump in shipments and a 2 percent increase in average selling price.

“This is very encouraging news for industries in the semiconductor space,” Cirtek said.

A growth rate of 24 percent would be the third largest increase in the global IC market over the past 16 years, being surpassed only by the 33 percent surge displayed in 2010 and the 25 percent increase registered in 2017, according to the IC Insights market research report.

Early in the first quarter of this year, CEC started procuring additional equipment to support the surge in demand from its customers. This is at the back of the Cirtek Group’s manufacturing capacity already running at 100 percent.

The new equipment will initially drive 25 percent additional capacity in the second half of 2022. This expansion is complemented with booked orders received in the first quarter of 2021.