MANILA, Philippines — Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC), the listed Asian food conglomerate, said its wholly owned subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte Ltd. (JWPL)‘s offer to purchase for cash a portion of its guaranteed perpetual securities has been received positively.
As of Oct. 18, JWPL was able to buy back $203.1 million in securities listed in Singapore.
It is targeting to buy back up to $250 million out of $600 million guaranteed senior perpetual securities issued in January 2020 and listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading.
The tender offer was announced on Oct. 4 and is being made to holders of the guaranteed senior perpetual capital securities. It will expire on Nov. 3 unless extended or is earlier terminated by JWPL.
In a disclosure yesterday, JFC said the tender offer provided a source of liquidity at a time of increased volatility in the broader credit markets, demonstrating JFC’s willingness to provide support to its note holders.
“At the same time, the success of the buyback allowed JFC to pursue its proactive liability management strategy to prudently strengthen its balance sheet,” JFC said.
The tender offer will be funded by the proceeds of JFC’s recent issuance of 12 million Series A and Series B cumulative, non-voting, non-participating, non-convertible, redeemable, peso-denominated perpetual preferred shares under JFC’s 20 million preferred shares shelf registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
With the completion of both transactions, along with other actions related to financing and financial management by December 2021, JFC expects to have fewer debt obligations, more distributed financial maturities over the next few years, lower foreign exchange risks and better leverage and debt servicing ratios, JFC said.
“These actions will support JFC in maintaining its capability to finance its profitable growth,” JFC said.
The company is embarking on an aggressive expansion mode as it targets to become one of the top five restaurants in the world.