AEV returning to the debt market with new P30-B bond program

Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) is seeking to borrow more from the domestic retail bond market with a proposal to replenish by P30 billion its shelf registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This, as AEV planned to return to the local bond market this fourth quarter to raise P12 billion for its expansion programs, the holding firm said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday.

To be able to proceed with its next fundraising strategy, AEV obtained approval from its board to apply for a new shelf registration program for the issuance of fixed-rate peso-denominated retail bonds worth up to P30 billion. This will allow it to cover the entire amount of P12 billion, since only P7.45 billion remained untapped under an existing program approved by corporate regulators back in 2019.

A shelf registration allows a company to offer in tranches new shares within a three-year period, allowing it to act fast when market conditions become favorable.

AEV appointed BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Bank Capital Corp. and First Metro Investment Corp. as joint issue managers, joint bookrunners and joint lead underwriters for the fourth quarter debt securities offering.

The board has authorized AEV’s management to determine the upcoming bond float’s interest rate, offer price, tenors and other terms and conditions.

“Subject to market conditions, the bonds are expected to be offered to the general public during the fourth quarter of 2022 and shall be listed with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation (PDEx) as and when issued,” the disclosure said.

Transition to techglomerate

In its latest quarterly report, AEV said it was “well underway” with its plan to transition into a “techglomerate,” or a conglomerate that “heavily integrates technology and design thinking in all its production, services and processes.”

The plan is to reinvent the group as a startup-style conglomerate that will be primarily driven by its people through a “cultural revolution that aims to combine the vast potential of data science and artificial intelligence with a deeply curious appetite for knowledge and self-improvement.”

AEV said this would allow it to become a more agile and advanced organization.