Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. is raising up to P5 billion from the sale of preferred shares to fund expansion and acquisition plans.
Chelsea Logistic said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission it would sell up to 3 million preferred shares and another 2 million preferred shares to cover oversubscription at P1,000 apiece.
The preferred shares are non-voting, non-convertible and non- participating.
The company tapped China Bank Capital as the sold issue manager and book runner for the fundraising activity.
Chelsea Logistics said it would allot P2 billion in proceeds to fund acquisitions of shipping and logistics companies, land and development of logistics facilities and vessels and vessel equipment.
The company said it was interested in acquiring a company that provides shipbuilding and repair services. It is also looking to acquire companies engaged in passenger and cargo operations.
Portion of the proceeds will be used to complete the acquisition of Southwest Gallant Ferries Inc. and Southwest Premier Ferries Inc.
The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Starlite Ferries Inc. obtained the Philippine Competition Commission’s approval to acquire SGFI and SPFI.
The company will also spend P1.8 billion to purchase and develop a 25,335-square-meter property in Taguig City for a multi-level logistics facility, while another P1.6 billion would be allocated to acquire additional vessels and equipment.
The company, through unit Fortis Tugs Corp., also plans to acquire additional tugboats for deployment in Cebu, Davao, Villanueva, and Cagayan de Oro ports.
The fundraising activity through the equities market will be Chelsea Logistics’s first after it raised P5.9 billion from an initial public offering in 2017.
Chelsea Logistics posted a net income of P390 million in the first half of 2018, up 29 percent from P278 million recorded in the same period last year.
Revenues reached P2.7 billion, bulk of which came from shipping activities which grew 37 percent to P2.6 billion.
Chelsea Logistics has 16 tankers, 14 tugboats, 22 RoPax vessels, 11 cargo ships, and one floating dock, while 2GO Group operates eight RoPax vessels, five cargo ships and 11 fastcraft.
