Ayala Corp. raises P8 billion via private placement

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala Corp., the country’s oldest conglomerate, raised P8 billion through a private placement to fund the acquisition of assets for refinancing.

In a disclosure yesterday, Ayala said it placed out 8.8 million common shares at a price of P916 each in a placement with a single long-term institutional investor.

“The placement raised P8.07 billion with proceeds going to our company and increasing our public float from 51.6 percent to 52.3 percent. We intend to use the proceeds to acquire properties or assets needed for the business of Ayala or for payment of debt contracted prior to the issuance of these shares,” Ayala chief finance officer Jose Teodoro Limcaoco said.

“The company will, as soon as practicable, apply for the listing in the Philippine Stock Exchange of the shares, which constitute 1.4 percent of our increased common stock,” he  added.

Ayala has been on a steady growth path with the aim of growing its international portfolio of energy, real estate, water and manufacturing businesses in the next two years.

It aims to bring the earnings from the international business to 10 percent from the current seven percent.

In the first quarter, the company’s net income expanded by 10 percent year-on-year to P7.7 billion, lifted by the robust earnings growth of its real estate and power units.

Equity earnings from Ayala’s business units grew nine percent to reach P9.2 billion, boosted by contributions of Ayala Land, which jumped 15 percent as well as AC Energy, which nearly doubled during the period.

The company remains positive on the domestic environment and expects the concentration of its investments to continue  in the Philippines.

At the same time, Ayala wants to establish a growing presence regionally and globally in sectors where it can bring its expertise and capital as opportunities arise.

Ayala is present in various industries including telecommunications, banking, real estate, e-commerce, water, healthcare and education.