CEBU Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) has generated P8 billion from issuing corporate notes last week, which will fund its plans to buy additional land, expand in more areas and develop a business hub in Davao.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange Monday, the listed property developer said it signed a notes facility agreement last week for the corporate notes, which it said was oversubscribed.
The issuance was composed of three series: the first one has a tenor of five years and amounts to P1.3 billion with a fixed spread of 90 basis points; the second has a tenor of seven years and amounts to P5.7 billion with a fixed spread of 95 basis points; and the third has a tenor of 10 years and amounts to P1 billion with a fixed spread of 100 basis points.
Proceeds from the issuance will be used for land acquisitions in Cebu, Bohol, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro and Davao and expansion in Puerto Princesa, Leyte, Butuan and General Santos City. The rest will support the development of a 22-hectare central business hub in Matina, Davao.
In an interview, CLI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jose R. Soberano III said the company has a lineup of projects that it wants to fund through loans, noting the timing is good because of low interest rates.
“We’re always on the go. On top of the bilateral loans that we have already arranged, there are those that we need to put in some more rather than having to tap bilateral loans [that are there] for the taking,” he said.
“There were a lot of offers for us on the debt market… (But) we were thinking, because this corporate note is simpler and it’s also on a clean basis, we could have done a retail bond because we’ve been rated double A in PhilRatings, which is pretty good for a young company,” Mr. Soberano added.
CLI Chief Finance Officer Beauregard Grant L. Cheng noted the company currently has 37 projects under different stages of construction, with 27 more in the pipeline.
“We’ll be launching those 27 projects in the next 24 months,” he said.
CLI tapped BPI Capital Corp. and China Bank Capital Corporation to jointly arrange the P8-billion corporate notes issuance. Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. were the co-arrangers and BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp. was the Facility Agent and Paying Agent.
Those that participated in the offering were Bank of The Philippine Islands, China Banking Corp., Development Bank of The Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. and Social Security System.
Shares in CLI at the stock exchange shed 18 centavos or 3.98% to close P4.34 apiece on Monday. — Denise A. Valdez
