MPIC to invest P6.8 B in Cavitex Holdings

MANILA, Philippines - Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is investing P6.77 billion in Cavitex Holdings Inc., which owns the coastal road linking Metro Manila to Cavite province, in the form of convertible notes.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, MPIC said it signed a financing and cooperation agreement with Cavitex that will involve the issuance by the Manila-Cavite toll expressway operator of convertible bonds to Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC).

The bonds are convertible into new, non-voting redeemable convertible preference shares or common shares of Cavitex subject to certain approvals and conditions.

Cavitex is a 14-kilometer toll road built in two segments running from Cavite to Laguna and currently hosts 90,000 vehicle entries a day.

The concession for this road extends to 2033 for the originally built road and to 2046 for a subsequent extension.

Under the cooperation agreement, MPTC will provide management assistance to Cavitex beginning Jan. 2, 2013.

Cavitex said MPTC will be able to use its expertise in operating the 84-kilometer North Luzon Expressway to improve the services that Cavitex currently provides to the riding public and the fast- growing population of Cavite.

“I am pleased that through our agreements, MPTC will be able to assist in the future development of Cavitex and possibly adjoining roads in this rapidly growing part of Metro Manila,” Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of MPIC and MPTC, said.

MPIC president and chief executive officer Jose Ma. K. Lim, for his part, said: “This is another step in our long signaled determination to further expand and develop Metro Manila’s toll roads.”

Ramoncito S. Fernandez, chief executive officer of MPTC, said they are looking forward to delivering to motorists on the Cavitex the same standard of customer service and excellence that MPTC already provides on the NLEX and the SCTEX.

For next year, MPTC will allot between P2.5 billion and P3 billion for capital expenditures, majority of which will go to the construction of a 2.1-km segment of the NLEX from Cloverleaf to McArthur Highway in Valenzuela. This will be a four-lane highway with an interchange and two vehicular overpasses.