After Quintel steal, Cirtek to sell $200M worth of shares

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has approved electronics manufacturer Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp.’s plan to offer to the public as much as $200 million worth of preferred shares and list these dollar-denominated securities (DDS).

This marks the second listing of DDS on the local stock exchange after a pioneering transaction by Del Monte Pacific Ltd. in April.

Cirtek’s offering, to run from Nov. 16 to 29, will consist of up to 120 million in new nonvoting, nonparticipating, nonconvertible and redeemable preferred shares at a price of $1 per share.

Price setting is set for Nov. 9 while tentative listing date is Dec. 8. Projected dividend rate for the five-year preferred shares is between 5.25 percent and 6.75 percent per year.

The preferred shares will carry a “step-up” rate of 300 basis points if not redeemed by Cirtek in five years. The issuer is then expected to retire the securities to avoid paying higher rates.

BPI Capital was mandated as the sole issue manager and bookrunner for this equity deal. It also acts as joint lead underwriter together with RCBC Capital.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to fund future growth and pare its debt after acquiring US-based antenna solutions provider Quintel, the Philippine firm’s ticket to Silicon Valley. Cirtek is grooming Quintel for listing on the Nasdaq within five years. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA