SEC okays P100-B SMC, Vista Land public offerings

The Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC has approved a total of P100 billion worth of public offerings proposed by Ramon S. Ang's San Miguel Corp. and Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. of the Villar Family.

Following its 17 October meeting, the Commission En Banc greenlighted the registration statement of SMC covering close to 867 million Series 2 preferred shares.

It also approved Vista Land's registration statement covering fixed-rate bonds to be offered in tranches within three years.

The SEC, however, noted that the offerings are still subject to the companies' compliance with certain remaining requirements.

San Miguel and Vista Land completed their registration processes within 33 and 32 days, respectively.

Tranches set

For the initial tranche, San Miguel will offer 400 million preferred shares at P75 apiece for a total of P30 billion — with an oversubscription option comprising up to 266.6 million preferred shares worth more than P20 billion.

San Miguel expects to net as much as P49.62 billion from the initial tranche.

The company said it will use the additional funding to repay Philippine peso-dominated short-term loan facilities and previously issued bonds. Likewise, it will help bankroll airport and airport-related projects.

Vista Land, on the other hand, said it will initially offer P6 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds — with an oversubscription of up to P4 billion, consisting of Series F bonds due 2026 and Series G bonds due 2028.

The offering forms part of the company's shelf registration of a debt securities program worth P35 billion.

The company estimated the expected net proceeds of more than P9.83 billion will be used to refinance maturing obligations and for general corporate purposes.