Posted on March 29, 2016
10:07:00 PM
By Krista Angela M.
Montealegre, Senior Reporter
DOUBLEDRAGON Properties
Corp. enjoyed robust demand for its convertible preferred shares, as the real
estate developer priced the high-yielding securities at the bottom of the
range.
DOUBLEDRAGON Chairman and
Chief Executive Edgar J. Sia II -- BW FILE PHOTO
DoubleDragon kicked off
yesterday a plan to raise up to P10 billion from the sale of preferred shares,
pegging the dividend rate at 6.4778% per annum -- the bottom end of the
indicative range, the company said in a disclosure to the stock exchange
yesterday.
The rate was 200 basis
points above the simple average of the seven-year benchmark rates for the three
consecutive days preceding pricing date, DoubleDragon said.
Demand reached over P26
billion at the low end of the price range, which is five times the base offer,
the company said.
“[There is] strong demand
because of very liquid market, attractive dividend rate, and good credit of
DoubleDragon,” Jose Luis F. Gomez, president of RCBC Capital Corp., said in a
mobile phone message yesterday.
Holders of the preferred
shares may convert them to DoubleDragon’s common shares at a rate of one
preferred share with a par value of P100 per share to one common share from the
second to the fifth anniversary of the issue date, according to the
registration statement.
Proceeds from the share
sale will be mainly allotted for the development of its community mall chain
under the brand CityMalls; DD Meridian Park, a 4.8-hectare (ha) mixed-use
development in Pasay City; the Jollibee Tower, the future headquarters of the Jollibee
group in Ortigas; and the Skysuites Tower, a 38-storey commercial, office and
residential skyscraper at the corner of EDSA and Quezon Avenue.
“We think that the strong
demand is due to the trusted confidence with the company’s ability to plan and execute
its set goals,” Hannah H. Yulo, DoubleDragon chief investment officer and
senior vice-president for corporate finance, said in a separate mobile phone
message.
Prior to its initial public
offering in 2014, DoubleDragon has announced its intention to develop 1 million
square meters of leasable space. So far, the company has secured over
two-thirds of the land bank to attain its target.
DoubleDragon plans to open
25 CityMalls a year, allowing the company to reach its 100-store goal by 2019
-- a year ahead of its 2020 target.
DoubleDragon is a joint
venture between Injap Investments, Inc. of Edgar “Injap” Sia II and Honeystars
Holdings Corp. of Tony Tan Caktiong, chairman and founder of Jollibee Foods
Corp.
Shares in DoubleDragon lost
35 centavos or 0.89% to close at P39.10 each on Tuesday.
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