PH Digest: UnionBank raises $400m via term notes; Vista Land secures $350m through bonds
November 23, 2017
https://www.dealstreetasia.
Philippine commercial bank UnionBank and homebuilder Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc have secured $400 million and $350 million respectively through the issuance of term notes and bonds.
UnionBank raises $400m through term notes
Priced at 3.369 per cent yearly, the fixed rate senior notes will have a tenor of five years.
“Proceeds of the notes will be used to refinance UnionBank’s existing liabilities, expand its funding base and for other general corporate purposes,” the commercial bank said in a statement.
The Aboitiz-led bank noted this is the debut drawdown under its medium-term note (MTN) programme. The bonds are rated Baa2 by Moody’s, identical to the issuer rating given to UnionBank.
The issue was more than eight times oversubscribed, with orders reaching over $3.2 billion. Settlement is slated for November 29, 2017.
“With a strong orderbook from the investors across Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa, this transaction represents the largest orderbook garnered by a Philippine bank issuer,” UnionBank added.
Citigroup and Standard Chartered Bank are the joint arrangers of the MTN Programme, and the joint lead managers and joint bookrunners for the transaction. China Bank Capital Corporation is the domestic lead manager for the transaction.
Vista Land secures $350m through bond issuance
One of the leading integrated property developers in the Philippines, Vista Land announced a new seven-year bond that has a call option starting in the fourth year with an indicative price guidance of around 6.125 per cent.
The company claims that strong response from investors enabled it to further tighten the pricing of the bonds to 5.750 per cent, or 37.5 bps tighter than guidance, despite some market volatility.
This is also the lowest coupon achieved by the company on the offshore bond markets.
The transaction was almost five times oversubscribed since the final orderbook reached $1.7 billion – the largest size raised by Vista Land on a primary issuance.
Proceeds from the issuance will be used primarily for refinancing. The bonds are expected to be issued on November 28.
DBS Bank Ltd and HSBC were joint lead managers and bookrunners for the new bonds, and are also joint dealer managers for the tender offer exercise. China Bank Capital Corp acted as the domestic manager for the new bonds.
Vista Land president and CEO Manuel Paolo Villar said the new bond issue, coupled with a liability management transaction, allows Vista Land to reduce its short-term refinancing risk, extend maturity duration and realize interest expense savings.
“[This] also provides us an opportunity to continue diversifying our sources of funding, ensuring we continue to build key relationships not only with our investors onshore but also with investors from Europe and Asia,” Villar said.
