Jul 2017 Financial News

NGL share offer oversubscribed

Jul 07, 2017

INITIAL indicators point to an over subscription of the additional public offering (APO) of shares in Trinidad and Tobago NGL Limited (TTNGL). Good news for the company in light of concerns expressed by some that TTNGL might, like First Citizens bank did in March, have an under subscribed APO.

On Wednesday, TTNGL chairman Gerry Brooks announced, “The offer received a very robust response from existing and new investors.

Initial indicators suggest the APO was oversubscribed.” Regarding notification of the basis of the allocations generally and a notice in writing of the allocation to each successful applicant, TTNGL said this “will be issued shortly with the dates set out in the prospectus.” Upon checking, Newsday was told the date of the transfer of proceeds from the sale of securities offered is July 19.

That date is also when the expected transfer of the securities offered to successful purchasers is scheduled to take place.

The expected electronic transfer of refunds via automated clearing house (ACH) is also July 19 while the expected notification of allotment of securities is July 26.

Potential shareholders had to provide proof of a bank account number for a chequeing or savings account with a local commercial bank.

This was required as refunds and future dividend payments will be made via ACH (direct deposit) to one’s bank account. Even before the APO subscription period ended; it ran from June 5 to 28, TTNGL bosses and those at their parent company, the National Gas Company (NGC), were confident that this APO was priced right.

As reported in the June 22 edition of Newsday’s Business Day magazine, NGC expects to raise $845,208,000 from the sale of its Class B shares.

The proceeds of which are intended to help fund Government’s fiscal programme. Asked on June 13 if management had found itself in a quandary when pricing the APO and if some investors had since expressed the view that the offer price should be been less than $21, NGC’s vice-president of Finance and Management, Narinejit Pariah, said no, they had not.

“If you look at the price performance of TTNGL over the past three months; from March 27 to now, that share traded around $21.75 on average and in fact, was closer to $22 from inception to now.

So we think it’s a fair price,” Pariah said.

Brooks, who is also NGC chairman, conveyed his thanks to TTNGL’s existing shareholders and re-investors who, “by their overwhelming subscriptions, reaffirmed their confidence in TTNGL.” “(Brooks) also welcomed on board new investors who expressed confidence in the strength of TTNGL and its APO of NGC’s 40,248,000 Class B shares,” TTNGL stated.

The offer price of $21 per share resulted in a trailing dividend yield of 7.14 percent - the highest on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE ).

Source:
Sasha Harrinanan
Newsday
Friday July 7, 2017

http://www.newsday.co.tt/business/0,246062.html