EEI Corp., the construction arm of the Yuchengco Group, said Wednesday it raised P6 billion from a preferred shares offering.
EEI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the preferred shares offering marked its return to the equity capital markets since its P540-million stock rights tender in 2007.
“We’re grateful for the public’s faith and trust in our company despite the challenges that we face. This fundraising exercise positions the company to more actively participate in projects that contribute to nation building,” said EEI chief financial officer Cris Noel Torres.
The offering enjoyed strong demand from investors that resulted in 4.85-times oversubscribed book order, compared to the base offer of P4 billion. This enabled EEI to exercise the oversubscription option and raise the total offering amount to P6 billion from the sale of 60 million preferred shares at P100 apiece.
“EEI’s preferred shares were oversubscribed with strong demand from institutional and retail investors who want exposure to a major player in the infrastructure development of the country” said RCBC Capital Corp., the sole issue manager of the offering.
Net proceeds from the issuance are expected to support the growth of the company through the financing of current and future projects and capital expenditures for new equipment. Other uses include the repayment of short-term loans and funding of general and working capital requirements.
The preferred shares were issued in two series: Series A, which carries an initial dividend rate of 5.7641 percent per annum for the first 3.5 years; and Series B, which offers a dividend rate of 6.9394 percent per annum for the first 5.5 years.
EEI earlier said it would hire 10,000 skilled workers next year to fast track completion of its projects. EEI said it would recruit skilled workers including carpenters, masons, rebar men, scaffolders, welders, pipe fitters, steel workers, engineers, architects, safety, quality control personnel, electricians and civil works supervisors.
The construction firm has 13,382 employees across different projects in the Philippines.