Ayala Corp secures $100-M club loan

Ayala Corp., through its wholly-owned subsidiary AC International Finance Ltd., has secured a $100-million syndicated term loan facility from a consortium of international financial institutions.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Ayala Corp. (AC) managing director Rufino Luis Manotok said the loan was obtained from BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered Bank and ING Bank.

Manotok said the money will be used to refinance AIFL’s maturing obligations in 2004 and 2005, dismissing speculations these would be channeled to fund the acquisition of the 10.4 million shares of Globe Telecom which AC agreed to purchase from Germany’s DeTeAsia Holding GmbH.

The company has $150-million worth of obligations maturing in 2004 and 2005.

AC, which holds 32.7-percent ownership in Globe, has agreed to buy DeTeAsia’s shares in the Philippines’ second largest telecoms company for P680 per share. DeTeAsia is owned by German phone giant Deutsche Telekom AG.

AC is the holding company of the Ayala Group of Companies, the largest conglomerate in the Philippines. Among its core businesses are real estate and hotels; financial services; telecommunications; and international operations.

Apart from Globe, AC’s other subsidiaries and affiliates include Ayala Land Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Manila Water Co. Inc., Integrated Microelectronics Inc., iAyala Co. Inc., Ayala Automotive Holdings Corp., and Ayala International Pte. Ltd.

The company continues to deliver steady growth in its earnings. It reported a 13-percent increase in its net income to P2.39 billion last year from only P2.1 billion in 2001, driven by the improved performance of its real estate and telecommunications units.