Ayala raises P13.5B via shares sale

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. raised P13.5 billion through the sale of preferred shares, with proceeds to be used to refinance debts as the company seeks to expand its infrastructure and power portfolios.

The company said in a regulatory filing that it sold 20 million preferred shares at P500 per share, raising P10 billion from the base offer.

It exercised part of the oversubscription option to raise another P3.5 billion from excess demand. Ayala had regulatory approval to raise as much as P15 billion.

The company earlier disclosed that the interest rate would be based on either the five-year or seven-year local interest rate PDST-R2 benchmark plus a spread. The shares have an indicative annual dividend rate of 4.85 to 5.35 percent and 5.05 to 5.55 percent, respectively.

Ayala also has the option to redeem the shares during the rate setting date and on any quarterly dividend payment date “on and after the 10th year anniversary.”

The company’s debts amount to about P12.95 billion and owed to lenders including Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and BDO Unibank. The debts mature from October 2014 through November 2019, its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed.

Ayala, through a partnership with Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp., last month won the P65-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite extension project under the public private partnership framework.

Ayala said it was keen on bidding for other projects in the PPP Center’s pipeline.

It recently acquired bid documents for theP122.8-billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike deal and the operations and maintenance contract for LRT-2.

The conglomerate, together with a unit of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., is awaiting President Aquino’s decision over the Cavite Laguna Expressway PPP. The deal was stalled after disqualified San Miguel Corp. sought Aquino’s intervention.

Ayala Corp., which is also involved in real estate, water supply, telecommunications and banking, reported last August that its net profit in the first half rose by 34 percent year-on-year to P9.8 billion.