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MANILA, Philippines – Businessman Manny Villar‘s Vista Land & Lifescapes, Incorporated (Vista Land) announced that it has raised $125 million (P5.968 billion) from the offshore bond market, thereby completing expenditure requirements from external sources for the year.
“With this fund-raising, Vista Land is well-positioned to achieve our targets for residential developments and commercial expansion for 2016. We are extremely pleased with our ability to successfully tap the international bond market despite all the recent market volatility,” Villar, chief executive officer of Vista Land, said in a statement on Tuesday, February 2.
Villar added that Vista Land’s “ability to access offshore medium-term funds reflects the strong confidence that credit investors have placed in [the company].”
The capital was raised by a re-tap of Vista Land’s existing 7.375% senior unsecured bonds due June 2022, off its Medium-Term Note Program. The new funds were raised at a price of 102.000, which represents a yield of 6.979% per annum.
Accessing the international bond market also allowed the the firm to be able to preserve appetite for future financing requirements in the local peso market, the statement read.
Vista Land acquired Starmalls Incorporated (Starmalls), the mall development arm of the Villar family, in October 2015.
The move made it the 4th largest integrated property developer in the country following SM Prime Holdings, Ayala Land Incorporated, and Megaworld Corporation.
The latest funding round marks the company’s first capital raise post-acquisition of Starmalls, with the firm saying that proceeds will be used to fund the capital expenditure plans of the combined entity.
Starmalls owns and operates 10 retail malls and two business process outsourcing (BPO) commercial centers, with a combined gross floor area of 509,385 square meters.
The firm also disclosed that it plans to focus on “Communicities” or integrated urban developments combining lifestyle retail, office space, university town, and healthcare themed residential developments and leisure components.
Villar said in an interview post-acquisition that he expects the country’s demand for malls to continue, adding that the now integrated firm plans to build 3 to 4 malls per year.
He also noted that they can double or even triple their gross leasable space in Metro Manila and in the provinces. – Rappler.com
$1 = P47.74
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