Petron lists P32-B bonds after oversubscribed offering

Petron Corp., the country’s only oil refiner backed by billionaire Ramon Ang, said on Monday the last tranche of its P50-billion shelf registration has been listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx).
In a disclosure, the company said it had raised P32 billion from the issuance of its fixed-rate bonds, which were oversubscribed by 1.3 times from a base offer of P25 billion.
The firm’s bonds maturing in five to 10 years carried interest rates ranging from 6.59 percent to 7.38 percent a year.
Ang, serving as the group’s president and chief executive officer, said the “strong response” from the investing public just showed its “confidence … in our long-term vision.”
“We are grateful for this trust and remain deeply committed to leading the charge when it comes to ensuring energy security and delivering quality petroleum products across the country,” the tycoon said in the filing.
Petron earlier said proceeds from this fundraising activity would be used to help settle its existing debt and finance general corporate purposes.
The listed company tapped PNB Capital and Investment Corp. as the sole issue manager.
Bank of Commerce, BDO Capital & Investment Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., First Metro Investment Corp., PNB Capital, Land Bank of the Philippines and PCCI Capital, meanwhile, served as joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners.
BPI Capital Corp., Development Bank of the Philippines, RCBC Capital Corp. and Security Bank Capital Investment Corp. acted as selling agents.
Petron supplies about 40 percent of the total fuel requirements nationwide through its refinery in Bataan. The facility has the capability to produce 180,000 barrels of oil per day.
The group ended the first quarter with P4.03 billion in earnings. Its top line, however, fell by 14.6 percent to P194.38 billion. This was as the sector faced “volatile and unpredictable market” amid the global trade war and geopolitical tensions.