Ayala Corp. to offer P10B in 7-year fixed-rate bonds

MANILA, Philippines—Conglomerate Ayala Corp., which is diversifying into power and infrastructure businesses, is returning to the local bond market with a P10-billion offering of seven-year bonds.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, Ayala Corp. said it had obtained the approval of its board for the offering of fixed-rate bonds, which would fall due in seven years. The conglomerate, however, will have an option to redeem the bonds in the fourth year.

“We want to ensure flexibility in preparation for our projects in the pipeline,” Ayala managing director Eric Francia said, when asked about the reason for the offering.

BPI Capital Corp. was named the issue manager.

The bonds will be subject to registration requirements by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The conglomerate plans to issue the bonds at par, or 100 percent of face value. They will be issued in scripless form in minimum denominations of P50,000 each and in multiples of P10,000 thereafter.

Ayala Corp. last tapped the local bond market in April with its public offering of 15-year bonds that were priced to yield 6.875 percent a year, the first corporate bond issue in the domestic capital market of this tenor. The bonds were listed on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. in May.

The conglomerate has recently been putting more chips in new growth areas, including infrastructure and power generation.

Late last year, the conglomerate won the bidding for the Daang Hari connector toll road under the government’s public-private partnership program.

It also forged recently an agreement with the Metro Pacific group to jointly pursue and develop light rail transit projects in Metro Manila.

Originally posted at 02:224 pm | Thursday, October 04, 2012