Housing firm raises P9B

MASS housing developer 8990 Holdings has raised P9 billion from its corporate bond debut, exercising its option to upsize the offering after generating strong demand from investors.

The offering was oversubscribed by nearly two times, allowing 8990 Holdings to exercise the overallotment option of P4 billion, banking sources said.

The series-A bonds, which will mature in five years and three months or by 2020 unless otherwise redeemed, were priced to yield 6.208 percent a year, based on a term sheet. Series-B bonds, which will mature in seven years or by 2022, were priced at 6.131 percent a year while series-C bonds, with a 10-year tenor, were priced at 6.8666 percent a year.

The offering was launched last Friday and will run until July 9, based on the term sheet.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to refinance existing debt of the issuer and its subsidiaries. A fixed-rate borrowing over a long period is also seen eliminating the risk of interest rate fluctuations.

8990 Holdings, which trades on the Philippine Stock Exchange under the ticker “HOUSE,” plans to list the bonds on the fixed-income trading platform Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp.

The bonds will be in scripless form and issued in minimum denominations of P50,000 each and additional investment in multiples of P10,000. They can be traded in denominations of P10 million in the secondary market.

Mandated to act as joint issue managers are BDO Capital and Investment Corp., First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and SB Capital Investment Corp. The joint lead underwriters are BDO Capital, FMIC, SB Capital and China Banking Corp.