DD concludes P10-B bond offering ahead of schedule, plans second tranche

By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter

LISTED property developer DoubleDragon Corp. (DD) on Monday said its retail bond offering, aimed at raising up to P10 billion, achieved full subscription five days ahead of schedule.

DoubleDragon is planning to launch another tranche, which will be facilitated “very soon,” the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.

The retail bond offering concluded on July 5, ahead of its original end date of July 10, due to oversubscription.

“We seek the understanding of the investing public for cutting short the DD retail bond offer period due to oversubscription way ahead,” the company said.

The retail bond offering represents the initial segment of DoubleDragon’s shelf-registered debt securities program, totaling up to P10 billion. It includes a base amount of up to P3 billion, with an oversubscription option of up to P3 billion.

“DoubleDragon has not issued any peso retail bond for over five years, and DD is extremely grateful to the unwavering support of the investing public on its return to the retail bond market,” the company said.

DoubleDragon engaged RCBC Capital Corp., Unicapital, Inc., and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as joint lead underwriters, joint issue managers, and bookrunners for the issuance.

Juan Paolo E. Colet, managing director at Chinabank Capital Corp., said that there is a rising interest among fixed-income investors to secure high interest rates amid expectations of monetary easing.

“The strong demand also reflects investors’ confidence in DoubleDragon’s prospects and, more broadly, the property sector. It likewise helped that the DoubleDragon bonds received the highest credit rating from PhilRatings, thereby reassuring investors of the issuer’s ability to meet its payment obligations,” he said in a Viber message.

“The next issuance might mirror the terms of the current issuance to make it equally appealing, although there is a chance the coupon might be lower since the relevant benchmark rates are starting to decline,” he added.

Seedbox Securities, Inc. Equity Sales Trader Moses Frando warned investors to consider key risks such as economic fluctuations impacting financing, uncertainties in DoubleDragon’s expansion projects like CityMalls and CentralHub, and leasing risks such as tenant issues and regulatory changes.

“Evaluating these risks carefully is crucial before investing in DoubleDragon’s bonds,” Mr. Frando said in a social media message.

At the local bourse on Monday, shares in the company went up by 1.18% to close at P12.04 apiece.