ABOITIZ Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) was able to raise $400 million from its maiden dollar-denominated bond offering, it told the stock exchange Friday.

Following its announcement last week that it plans to issue senior unsecured notes, the listed conglomerate said in a disclosure yesterday it has agreed on a coupon rate of 4.2% per annum and a tenor of 10 years for the offering.

The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary AEV International Pte. Ltd. (AEVI) will issue the notes, which will be listed at the Singapore Exchange. Settlement is expected on Jan. 16.

Proceeds will be used to reimburse the funding given to AEVI when it bought Singapore-based Gold Coin Management Holdings, Inc. last year. It will also finance other proposed offshore investments of the company and general corporate needs.

AEV said the notes are unrated and will be payable semi-annually. These are unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed with AEV as the guarantor.

“This bond issuance reflects our optimism in the strength of our fundamentals and the healthy appetite among foreign investors today. We look forward to availing of the international market to fund further growth and enable us to advance business and communities,” AEV President and Chief Executive Officer Sabin M. Aboitiz was quoted in the statement as saying.

The company said it was able to record a demand of more than $1 billion from more than 80 investors for the offering, which is equivalent to an oversubscription of more than two times from its issue amount.

More than 50% of the investors came from Asia excluding the Philippines, about one third came from onshore accounts, and more than 10% came from Europe, Middle East and Africa.

AEV has tapped Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. (Singapore Branch), Standard Chartered Bank, DBS Bank Ltd., Mizuho Securities (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. and MUFG Securities Asia Ltd. (Singapore Branch) as joint lead managers for the issuance.

Acting as joint global coordinators are the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. and Standard Chartered Bank, while co-managers are BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp. and China Bank Capital Corp.

Earnings of AEV in the nine months ending September fell 9% to P15.7 billion after it took non-recurring losses amounting to P155 million.

Shares in AEV gained 20 centavos or 0.39% to close at P52 each on Friday. — Denise A. Valdez

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