ICTSI raises P8.2 B from share sale

MANILA, Philippines - International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has raised P8.19 billion from the sale of shares to partly fund its capital expenditures this year.

ICTSI treasury directorAlbert Tabuena said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that the company sold 89.999 million shares at P91 per share for a total consideration of P8.19 billion.

Tabuena said the share sale was approved by the company’s Board of Directors last May 14 in order to raise funds for the its capital expenditures this year that is expected to amount to $550 million.

“The Board considering the high ICTSI share prices approved the recommendation of management to raise funds for general corporate purposes including funding of committed capital expenditure by selling shares held in treasury and doing a placing and subscription transaction using shares borrowed from the ICTSI chairman,” he stressed.

The company sold 36.889 million common shares from its treasury as well as 53.11 million shares borrowed from Enrique Razon Jr. at P91 per share.

On the other hand, the company would issue the same number of shares to Razon.

CLSA Limited and UBS AG acted as placement agents for the transaction.

For his part, UBS managing director Lauro Baja said 77 investors participated in the fund raising activity.

About 63 percent of the investors came from Asia, 27 percent were from the US, and 10 percent were from Europe.

Baja said that the fund raising activity that was originally placed at $150 million but was later raised to $200 million after it was 2.5 times oversubscribed.

Early this year, the company through its ICTSI Treasury BV raised $400 million as part of its $750-million medium term note program to fund expansion programs.

Razon earlier told the company’s stockholders that the port operator is setting its sights on further expanding its overseas presence and is looking at several acquisition opportunities in Europe, the US, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

“We are watching Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam in Asia. Among the three, we are watching Myanmar but there is no plan to expand there right now and Cambodia is the most promising but the government not decided yet to privatize,” Razon stressed.

He revealed that ICTSI is spending $550 million this year to bankroll its operations abroad particularly in Argentina and Mexico and at the same time expand its presence in the Philippines.