Conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. plans to issue up to P5 billion in fixed retail bonds in the first half of 2019.
AEV said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its board of directors approved the issuance of the first tranche of its P30-billion fixed-rate retail bonds equivalent to P3 billion, and with an oversubscription option of up to P2 billion.
“Depending on market conditions, the Series A Bonds are expected to be offered to the general public during the first half of 2019,” said AEV.
The company appointed BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and First Metro Investment Corp. as joint issue managers and underwriters of the bond offering.
AEV plans to list the bonds with Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp.
AEV this year plans to spend between P50 billion and P60 billion to mainly finance the expansion of the power business and the water and real estate units.
The last time AEV raised capital from the local bond market was in 2015, when it raised P24 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds maturing in October 2020, 2022, and 2027.
AEV’s food unit Pilmico International in 2018 acquired a 75-percent stake in one of Asia’s largest privately-owned agribusiness corporations, Gold Coin Management Holdings Limited (Gold Coin), for $334 million.
The acquisition paved the way for AEV to further expand its animal feed footprint in the region.
Gold Coin is a major producer of animal feeds. It operates livestock and aqua feed mills across 11 countries in Asia.
AEV last year also started construction of a P12.6-billion bulk water project in Davao City. The project will provide the Davao City Water District with over 300 million liters per day of safe water. The Apo Agua project plans to start operations by the first half of 2021.
Share price of AEV on Friday rose 0.3 percent to P58.85.