Ayala Corp. scaling new ventures

AYALA Corp. is scaling its newer businesses in healthcare, logistics, infrastructure, education, financial technology, and electric mobility, leveraging its fundraising ability, according to its president.

“Perhaps as important are our newer, less well-known businesses in healthcare, logistics, infrastructure, education, financial technology, and electric mobility. These too will benefit from our ability to raise funding,” Ayala Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Cezar P. Consing said during a listing ceremony on Tuesday.

“Our objective is to grow these to scale so that even these relatively newer businesses can have a positive impact on the lives of a significant number of our countrymen,” he added.

Mr. Consing said this as Ayala Corp. listed its P15-billion preferred Class B shares at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

Under the issuance, Ayala Corp. sold 7.5 million shares, including a base offer of five million shares and an oversubscription of 2.5 million shares.

The preferred shares were issued at P2,000 per share and are payable quarterly with an initial dividend rate of 6.0538% per annum.

“This issuance provides us with the flexibility to redeem the outstanding preferred shares issued in 2019, and allows us to maintain competitiveness in our cost of capital,” Ayala Corp. Chief Finance Officer Alberto M. de Larrazabal said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Consing said the P15 billion preferred shares will help the conglomerate build businesses that “enable people to thrive.”

“Our bigger and better-known businesses, real estate, banking, telecommunications, and renewable energy, have been beneficiaries of our ability to raise funding at the holding company level,” he said.

On Tuesday, Ayala Corp. shares rose by 1.39% or P10 to 730 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave