AREIT Inc., the real estate investment trust company owned by Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), has successfully raised P3 billion from its maiden bond offering.
AREIT president and chief executive said during the virtual listing ceremony at Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. the offering was more 5.5 times oversubscribed, with demand reaching over P16 billion.
Retail investors accounted for 58 percent of the total bond subscription totaling P1.75 billion, signifying the market’s strong interest in the company even after its initial public offering last year.
PDEx president and chief executive Antonino Nakpil said AREIT was the first REIT company to tap the corporate bond market.
With the successful offering,Nakpil is hopeful it will open opportunities for other REIT firms to issue corporate bonds to fund their expansion plans.
AREIT will use the net proceeds from the offering to refinance debt and partially finance the acquisition of The 30th, a mixed-use commercial development in Pasig City.
The 30th is a commercial building with a total gross leasable area of 74,704 square meters composed of a 19-storey office tower with a GLA of 47,871 sq.m. and a 4-storey retail podium with a GLA of 26,833 square meters.
AREIT early this year purchased The 30th from ALI as part of its overall strategy to expand its leasing portfolio to boost shareholder value.
AREIT’s total gross leasable area to date is estimated at 549,000 square meters.
The P3-billion bond offering is the first tranche from the company’s P15-billion bond shelf registration program approved by Securities and Exchange Commission.
AREIT engaged BPI Capital Corp. and BDO Capital & Investment Corp. as the joint lead underwriters and bookrunners of the transaction.
Shares of AREIT on Tuesday added 0.8 percent to P49.20.
