Ayala Corp. raises P3.3B from sale of treasury shares

Ayala Corp. raised P3.3 billion Wednesday night from the sale of treasury shares, taking advantage of strong investor appetite to generate funds for power and infrastructure investments.

Ayala said it sold 5.18 million common shares at P647 each, a discount of 3 percent from Wednesday’s closing price of P667 a share.  CLSA Ltd. was the sole placing agent in the offering of Ayala’s treasury shares. The shares were crossed through the Philippine Stock Exchange Thursday.

“This new funding will further strengthen our balance sheet to build up our portfolio in [power and infrastructure]. Overall, we are excited about the opportunities and the strategic value that investments in these two sectors can bring to Ayala. We hope to be able to contribute in some measure to the development of these sectors and at the same time create future sources of earnings and value for the group,” Ayala president and chief operating officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.

Ayala intends to use the proceeds to fund “existing and potential sizable projects in the infrastructure and power sectors.” Ayala is looking to invest up to $1 billion over the next five years in these two sectors.

In the last two years, Ayala has established a pipeline of power platforms in the conventional and renewable technologies and has committed more than $300 million in equity to build up a gross generating capacity of 900 megawatts. It is looking to increase its equity commitment to $500-$600 million over the next 12 to 18 months.

In the conventional energy space, Ayala has entered into an agreement to acquire about 20 percent if GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co., a 600-megawatt coal facility in Bataan that will start operations soon.