Cosco Capital completes P5-B maiden notes issue

MANILA, Philippines - Cosco Capital Inc., the investment vehicle of retail tycoon Lucio Co, has completed its debut in the debt capital market, raising P5 billion to support acquisitions.

The company said Friday it signed a P5-billion notes facility with a group of institutional lenders composed of banks and insurance companies.

“The facility, which consists of seven- and 10-year notes, will be used to fund strategic acquisitions and for general corporate purposes,” Cosco Capital said.

“This notes issuance is indeed a clear confirmation of the financial community’s trust and confidence in Cosco Capital,” said company president Leonardo Dayao, adding that the offering was 2.5 times oversubscribed.

Metrobank Group’s First Metro Investment Corp. acted as the sole arranger and book runner for the issue, which marked Cosco Capital’s maiden offering in the debt capital markets following the consolidation of the Co family’s assets in 2013.

Dayao earlier said the company in on the lookout for opportunities in food and real estate leasing for retail.

Cosco Capital is into supermarkets (Puregold Price Club Inc.), liquor importation (Premier Wine & Spirits Inc.), commercial real estate and oil storage and oil exploration activities.

It is the country’s leading importer of liquor with exclusive distribution rights for some of the world’s top brands like Cuervo, Jim Beam, Fundador, Absolut Vodka, Johnny Walker, Chivas Regal and Alfonso.

Pro-forma net income of the investment firm hit P5.3 billion last year, up 83 percent from P2.9 billion a year ago.

Last year, the Co family infused a 51-percent stake in grocery chain Puregold and a portfolio of liquor distribution companies, commercial real estate firms and an oil storage business into Cosco Capital.