DoubleDragon Corp. (DD), led by SIA AND CAKTIONG, said it plans to issue up to P10 billion in retail bonds in the first quarter to strengthen the company’s cash position and balance sheet.
The issuance includes a base offering of P5 billion and an oversubscription option of P5 billion, DoubleDragon said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.
DoubleDragon said the issuance will be the company’s only peso-denominated retail bond issue this year. The price will be 7.77% per year and will have a term of seven years.
The planned P10 billion bond issuance will be the second tranche of DoubleDragon’s P30 billion retail bond program, while the third and final tranche will be issued next year.
DD said the proposed issuance received the highest PRS Aaa rating with stable outlook from the Philippine Rating Services Corp.
The PRS Aaa rating is given to issues with marginal credit risk, while a stable outlook means the rating is likely to be maintained or unchanged over the next twelve months.
“The capital raising issuances at this stage of DD’s growth are intended to further enhance its cash position and further strengthen its balance sheet – all in line with DD’s objective to become a mature Tier 1 company by this year, 2025 be,” DD said.
“The DD New Year Triple-7 retail bond offering bears the number 7 in triplet, as in 777, which many believe signifies the multiplication of happiness,” it added.
In addition to the proposed bond issuance, DoubleDragon said the upcoming Nasdaq listing of its subsidiary Hotel101 Global Pte. Ltd. and the planned public listing of an industrial real estate investment trust (REIT) of its subsidiary CentralHub are expected to boost the company’s balance sheet.
DD previously said the planned IPO of industrial warehouse unit CentralHub could go ahead by the second half of 2025, amid falling interest rates.
In November, DD said it ended the offering period for the P10 billion fixed-rate retail bond issuance two days earlier than planned due to strong investor demand.
The price was 8% per annum and was the first tranche of the company’s multi-year P30 billion retail bond issuance.
DD shares rose 1.21% or 12 centavos to P10 each on Thursday. – Revin Mikhael D. Ochave