AYALA Corp. is looking to scale up its newer and smaller businesses.
Speaking at the company’s listing of its P15- billion reissued preferred shares Tuesday, Cesar Consing, Ayala president, said growing the smaller businesses “to scale” will have a “positive impact on the lives of a significant number of our countrymen.”
“The P15- billion preferred shares issue that we list today will help us continue to build businesses that enable people to thrive. Our bigger and better- known businesses, real estate, banking, telecommunications, renewable energy, have been beneficiaries of our ability to raise funding at the holding company level, but perhaps as important are our newer, less well known businesses in healthcare, logistics, infrastructure, education, fintech, electric, mobility. These too will benefit from our ability to raise funding,” Consing said.
“Our objective is to grow these to scale so that even these relatively newer businesses can have positive impact on the lives of a significant number of our countrymen. We often ask ourselves, will our companies make for a better Philippines? We really hope they do, because our 109th year history alone will not ensure relevance and longevity,” Consing added.
Ayala priced the preferred shares’ coupon at 6.0538 percent. It sold 7.5 million shares, divided into a firm offer of 5 million and another 2.5 million for the oversubscription option at an offer price of P2,000.
The share sale’s order book was two times the final upsized amount, according to Consing.
The company used the proceeds to redeem what is left of the original Class B preferred shares due on November 29.
Ayala tapped BPI Capital Corp. as sole issue manager, with BDO Capital & Investment Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., PNB Capital and Investment Corp., RCBC Capital Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp. joining as joint lead underwriters and bookrunners.
Consing noted that Ayala companies account for 18 percent of all outstanding preferred shares listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange.
