PSE okays listing of Megaworld's P4.1-billion bonus warrants

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Stock Exchange has approved the listing of Megaworld Corp.’s bonus warrants that would raise around P4.1 billion.

The company is listing a total of 4.1 billion warrants backed by the same number of underlying common shares. Shareholders will get four warrants for every five existing common shares subscribed to the firm’s recently concluded P5.1 billion rights offering.

The warrants will entitle the holders to buy common share for every one bonus warrant held at an exercise price of P1 each share beginning on the 24th month from issue date. 

The warrants, which will expire on June 2015, will be listed and traded on Dec. 14, 2009 and June 14, 2010, respectively.

Proceeds from the issue will be used to fund Megaworld’s capital and project expenditures from 2012 to 2015. The bulk, or P3 billion, has been earmarked for working capital while P1 billion will go to the development of a business process outsourcing center in Newport City in Pasay.

Megaworld, the real estate development arm of tycoon Andrew Tan, successfully raised P5 billion from a recent bond offering which was 2.4 times oversubscribed.

The bonds, which will be listed at the Philippine Dealing Exchange, were issued to institutional and retail investors through a general public offering that was handled by BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd.

The bonds, priced at 8.46 percent per annum, carry a term of five years and six months.

The bond issue was assigned the highest rating of AAA by Credit Rating and Investors’ Services Philippines Inc., reflecting the borrower’s strongest capacity to repay debt obligations.

Proceeds from the issue will be used to partly fund Megaworld’s capital expenditures over the next three years for the development of the North Bonifacio Central District project. Megaworld has committed to invest at least P15.6 billion over 20 years to develop the 8.38- hectare property into a mixed-use complex.