Del Monte Philippines Inc. said Wednesday it raised P6.47 billion from the maiden issuance of fixed-rate bonds, a move that would enable it to lower borrowing costs while lengthening debt maturity profile.
The bond offering consists of three-year bonds with an interest rate of 3.4840 percent and five-year bonds with an interest rate of 3.7563 percent.
It was 1.29-times oversubscribed and attracted a good mix of retail and institutional investors that included insurance companies, retirement funds and asset management groups.
“The success of the bond offering reflects the investing public’s confidence and optimism in DMPI’s strong fundamentals and long-term prospects as well as the company’s financial strength and capability to meet our financial obligations,” Joselito Campos, Jr., president and chief executive of DMPI, said in a statement.
The bonds will be listed in the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. on Oct. 30, 2020.
Proceeds from the issuance will be used to refinance and term out existing short-term loans and convert them into long-term liabilities.
BDO Capital and Investment Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., First Metro Investment Corp. and RCBC Capital Corp. were the joint issue managers, joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners for the maiden bond issuance.
Exchange Equity Partners acted as financial advisor to DMPI.
DMPI has been operational in the Philippines for 94 years and is the market leader in canned pineapple and mixed fruit, canned and tetra ready-to-drink juices, tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce categories, under the Del Monte brand.
It is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the Philippines operating an integrated 26,000-hectare pineapple plantation in Bukidnon, one of the largest in the world.