SEC approves P5-B retail bond offer of Rockwell

Property developer Rockwell Land Corp. has obtained approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to embark on a P5-billion retail bond offering.

The SEC approved Rockwell’s registration statement covering P5 billion worth of unsecured fixed rate peso retail bonds with a tenor of seven years and one quarter, based on documents from the corporate regulator.

Interest rate on the proposed bond offer will be determined based on an interpolated 7.25-year Philippine Dealing System (PDS) treasury-fixing benchmark rate and an estimated spread of 125 to 175 basis points.

The issue manager for the offering is First Metro Investment Corp. while the joint lead underwriters are FMIC and SB Capital and Investment Corp.

Proceeds from the offering are intended for capital spending for the remainder of this year and for 2014, primarily for its upscale Proscenium development. These will cover expenditures not covered by funding raised from the P10-billion corporate notes drawn this year.

The Proscenium, located beside Rockwell Center, is one of the company’s big-ticket projects and will comprise five towers requiring an estimated investment of P26 billion.

Rockwell Land officials earlier said that the company was looking to hold a follow-on share sale to help finance its expansion into the broader affordable property sector.

These products will be offered through a new subsidiary, Primaries Development Corp. Its maiden project is a mid-rise residential project in New Manila called 53 Benitez.

For 53 Benitez, Primaries is eyeing a mid-rise medium-density project with 364 units contained in two towers. The company plans to offer two- to three-bedroom units described as starter homes.

Rockwell Land president Nestor Padilla earlier said that he expected a sustained increase in profitability this year, as the company is projecting a profit target of P1.4 billion to P1.5 billion against a net profit of P1.1 billion in 2012.