AEV lists P24 B bonds at PDEX

MANILA, Philippines - Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV), the holding company of the Aboitiz Group, formally listed yesterday its five-, seven- and 12-year bonds at the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEX).

PDEX is the country’s secondary market platform.

The five-year and three-month bonds  with a fixed interest rate of 4.47 percent per annum will mature on 2020 while the seven-year bonds with a fixed interest rate of five percent will mature on 2022.

The 12-year bonds with a fixed interest rate of 6.02 percent per annum will mature on 2027.

AEV completed last week its offering of the first tranche of its fixed-rate retail bonds amounting to P24 billion.

The bond issue was assigned a rating of PRS Aaa by local debt watcher Philippine Rating Services Corp.

In an earlier disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange,  AEV said the bonds were well received by both institutional and retail investors, resulting in a book order that was 2.7 times oversubscribed.

The conglomerate intends to use the proceeds from the bond issuance to partially finance planned acquisitions, future investments and other general corporate requirements.

AEV, in partnership with Ireland-based CRH, acquired the Philippine assets of Lafarge for P24 billion.

Erramon I. Aboitiz, AEV president and chief executive officer, said the country’s need for quality cement is expected to grow alongside a booming economy.

In a separate disclosure, AEV said its joint venture company AEV CRH Holdings submitted the initial tender offer documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the acquisition of the common shares held by the minority shareholders of Lafarge Republic Inc. (LRI).

AEV CRH is considering applying for delisting of  LRI depending on the results of the tender offer.

It was initially granted the option to acquire 5.17 million LRI common shares, representing 88.85 percent of LRI’s outstanding capital stock, from the major shareholders.