Vista Land raises $100 million from bond offer

MANILA, Philippines - Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., the holding firm for majority of the real estate holdings of the family of Sen. Manuel Villar, raised $100 million from the issuance of five-year unsecured bonds in the international market, marking its first foray into the overseas markets.

 “We are very pleased with the response of the investor community on our inaugural bond issue. This is a vote of confidence in our company from the local and international investing community,” said Paolo Villar, chief finance officer of Vista Land.

Morgan Stanley and UBS AG were the joint lead managers and bookrunners for the issue while BDO Capital acted as domestic manager.

The bonds carry a coupon of 8.25 percent per annum.

Villar said the company’s maiden bond offering is part of an overall financing strategy to diversify its sources of funding.

For his part, UBS managing director Lauro Baja said “the company wanted to take advantage of strong positive sentiment in the international debt market.”

Morgan Stanley executive director Mark Frondoso added that the transaction “should raise the company’s profile with both foreign and local investors.”

Vista Land is the holding company of five business units – Brittany, Crown Asia, Camella Homes, Communities Philippines and Vista Residences – encompassing a wide geographic base.

The company recently approved the declaration of a 20-percent cash dividend or 5.4 centavos per share, which is equal to 20 percent of its earnings in 2009. Entitled to receive the dividends are stockholders of record as of Sept. 30, 2010. The cash dividends are payable on Oct. 26.

In the six months ending June this year, Vista Land reported a 40 percent jump in its net income to P1.44 billion from P1.03 billion the previous year-period. Revenues rose 19 percent to P5.95 billion on the back of a 29-percent jump in sales take-up.

The company is eyeing a record P20 billion in sales this year.

Vista Land shares have been performing relatively well. Leading international stock brokerage house Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia-Pacific (CLSA) recently reiterated its “buy” rating on Vista Land shares.

The company is all set to roll out new vertical development projects, which would bring the total value of its vertical units to P12.5 billion by next year. It is also easing into commercial property development via its existing master-planned communities, which also signals its entry into the leasing business.