AEV raising P12 billion via bond issuance

MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) is set to raise up to P12 billion through two shelf registration programs which are targeted to be offered in the fourth quarter.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, AEV said its board of directors approved the application with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a new shelf registration program (2022 bonds) for up to P30 billion worth of fixed-rate peso-denominated retail bonds.

It said the 2022 bonds would be issued in one or tranches depending on market conditions.

The board of directors also approved the issuance of the first tranche of the said 2022 bonds with an aggregate principal amount of up to P4.55 billion.

AEV said its board of directors also approved the issuance of an aggregate principal amount of   P7.45 billion, representing the final tranche of the P30 billion fixed-rate retail bonds (2019 bonds) registered through the shelf registration program and approved by the SEC in 2019.

The board also approved the P12 billion worth of bonds made up of P4.55 billion under the first tranche of 2022 bonds and the P7.45 billion under the last tranche of the 2019 bonds.

“Subject to market conditions, the bonds are expected to be offered to the general public during the fourth quarter of 2022 and shall be listed with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation (PDEx) as and when issued,”AEV said.

The AEV board also approved the  appointment of BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., and First Metro Investment Corp. as joint issue managers, joint bookrunners, and joint lead underwriters; BDO Unibank, Inc.–Trust and Investments Group as the trustee; and Philippine Depository & Trust Corp. as the registrar and paying agent for the bonds issuance.

It also approved the delegation to the management of the final determination of the interest rate, offer price, tenors, and other terms and conditions of the bonds.

The company did not disclose the use of the proceeds of the bonds.
In the first half, AEV reported a 12-percent decline in its consolidated net income following lower income contributions from its business units.

The company said its consolidated net income in the first semester declined to P11.8 billion from P13.5 billion in the same period last year.

AEV’s core net income for the period also suffered a 33- percent year-on-year drop to P9.1 billion due to reduced ownership in Aboitiz Power Corp. and extraordinary trading gains realized by Union Bank of the Philippines last year.

AEV said earlier that if it retained the same ownership of AboitizPower and removed the extraordinary trading gains realized by UnionBank in 2021, its core net income in the first half would have been higher by 19 percent compared to the same period last year.