AYALA Corp.’s follow-on offering saw strong support from institutional investments as it lists its preferred class A shares on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange, its top official said on Monday.
“The issue itself saw strong support from both institutional and middle investments and ample take up from participants,” Ayala President and Chief Executive Officer Cezar P. Consing said during the company’s re-issuance event.
Mr. Consing added that corporate investors made up a significant percentage of the take-up.
The company had initially raised about P13.1 billion from the sale of its preferred shares amid excess demand, prompting the exercise of its oversubscription option over the base offer.
Ayala disclosed earlier that it had sold 4 million shares for P10 billion, which was the base size of the offer, and raised P3.11 billion from around 1.24 million preferred shares through the oversubscription option. The shares were priced at P2,500 each.
The company’s class A preferred shares were offered to trading participants from May 8 to 19.
“The proceeds of Ayala’s [preferred shares] will support our company’s many growth initiatives. These initiatives are testimony to the Philippines’ renewed growth,” Mr. Consing said.
Broken down, the diversified conglomerate said that P10 billion of the offering proceeds will be used to partially or fully refinance its fixed-rate bonds, and P4.5 billion will be used to partially repay its short-term loan to the Bank of the Philippine Islands.
Additionally, about P1.3 billion will be used as capital expenditure of AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., while about P4.1 billion will be used to refinance its P10-billion 5.25% series B preferred shares.
On Monday, Ayala shares rose by 0.87% or P6 to P692 apiece. — Adrian H. Halili
