ICTSI raises $400M for expansion plans

International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), a multinational container terminal operator, has raised fresh funds to finance its spending plans, including potential acquisitions.

The company, controlled by ports and gaming tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday that it had sold $400 million in senior unsecured perpetual securities.

It priced an initial $350 million offering on Wednesday and it followed it up with another $50 million the following day, bringing the total deal size to $400 million.

The securities were issued by ICTSI subsidiary Royal Capital B.V. and would be guaranteed by ICTSI. The securities will pay 5.875 percent annually and are callable on May 5, 2022 and any distribution payment date after the first call date, the filing showed.

Most of the securities were snapped up by investors in Asia (75 percent), followed by Europe (13 percent) and the United States (12 percent).

“This transaction is part of our strategy of prudent and value accretive capital and risk management, while further extending the duration of our liabilities to be in line with our concessionary assets. It similarly provides additional liquidity in the context of ICTSI’s growth strategy,” Rafael Consing Jr., ICTSI senior vice president and chief financial officer, said on Thursday.

The deal made ICTSI the first issuer in the region to have offered equity-accounted fixed-for-life senior perpetual securities in the international debt capital market.

As noted, the proceeds will be used for “acquisitions, capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes.”

Last month, ICTSI confirmed its latest overseas target, a 65-percent stake in Turkey’s Evyapport. It said the facility was Turkey’s fourth-largest private port.

It covers Istanbul Asian side, Kocaeli and Adapazari hinterlands and well connected with major ports of the world, information on its website showed.

ICTSI is involved in almost 30 port deals around the world, across five continents. Its flagship project in the Philippines is the Manila International Container Terminal.