Market summary
The Real Estate sector experienced notable activity in July 2024, with significant fundraising and acquisition deals highlighting the month. DoubleDragon Corp. successfully raised PHP10b (~USD170.2m) through a 3.5-year retail bond offering, while Starfleet Innotech, Inc. agreed to acquire a 60% stake in H. A. Duldulao & Co., Inc. for USD12m. PH1 World Developers, Inc. secured a PHP500m (~USD 8.6 million) loan from BPI for its Northscapes housing project, and Hann Resorts announced plans for a potential IPO worth PHP15b-20b (USD256.6m-342.2m). Additionally, Ayala Land Inc. received a sustainability-linked financing package from IFC worth up to PHP14.5b (~USD284.4m) to support its green development initiatives.
The Healthcare sector in the Philippines was also active in fundraising, with Kindred Health Inc. securing USD5.5m in a pre-Series A round to advance its femtech solutions, and Hive Health raising USD6.5m in pre-Series A funding to expand digital health insurance access for SMEs. Key investors in these rounds included Integra Partners, Gentree Fund, BEENEXT.
*Aggregate Deal Values = c. USD1,508.8m
This month’s top deals
Energy & Utilities
Cosco Capital is expanding its firm’s renewable energy investments by acquiring another hydroelectric facility. Philippine Star reported that Cosco Capital Inc., Lucio Co’s listed retail firm, announced its plan to acquire 100% of Matuno River Development Corporation, the developer of the Matuno River hydroelectric power plant in Nueva Vizcaya.
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Philippine utility firm Maynilad Water Services Inc. plans an initial public offering as soon as 2025, its CEO said. Under its 25-year concession, Maynilad, the water distributor in Manila’s west zone, is required to list on the stock exchange by January 2027.
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Telecommunications & Media
Equinix, Inc. announced its planned entry into the Philippines with the acquisition of three data centers from Total Information Management ("TIM"), a leading technology solutions provider. Following the recently announced expansions in Malaysia and Indonesia, this strategic move aims to help businesses expand and capitalize on the digital opportunity of the fast-growing Southeast Asia region. The all-cash transaction represents a multiple of approximately 15x the projected EBITDA at full utilization and is expected to close in H2 2024, subject to customary closing conditions.
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A-FLOW Properties I Corp. and Land Bank of the Philippines recently signed a PHP2.4 billion loan agreement for the establishment of a data center campus in Biñan, Laguna. The loan facility will be used for the development of the initial phase of the first A-FLOW data center campus and is the first tranche of a PHP10.8 billion ten-year loan facility with Landbank.
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A-FLOW, LANDBANK ink PHP2.4 billion loan for data center in Laguna
Real Estate
DoubleDragon Corp., the listed developer chaired by Edgar “Injap” Sia II, is making its return to the local bond market this month to raise as much as PHP10 billion. In a stock exchange filing, DoubleDragon said it has received from the Securities and Exchange Commission the green light to sell for its 3.5-year retail bond offering. The bonds carry a coupon rate of 8.008 percent per annum.
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DD concludes PHP10 billion bond offering ahead of schedule, plans second tranche
Starfleet Innotech (OTC: SFIO), a global investment holding company, is excited to announce the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire a 60% majority stake in H.A. Duldulao & Co. (HADCI), a sustainable real estate developer in the Philippines. This strategic acquisition is a pivotal milestone in Starfleet Innotech's growth and expansion strategy. H.A. Duldulao & Co. is currently developing the Heroes Lane project located in Gamu, Isabela, which has a potential value of USD35 million, with more than 46% of the total 668 units already reserved to date. The said project is proposed to be the first-ever green certified project in Northern Philippines under the Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) of the World Bank IFC.
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Starfleet Innotech Announces Agreement to Acquire 60% Majority Stake in H.A. Duldulao & Co.
Real estate company PH1 World Developers, Inc. has signed a PHP500 million loan deal with the Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) for its Northscapes housing project in San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan. The loan will finance the development of Northscapes, a 4.6-hectare residential project launched in September last year, PH1 said in an e-mailed statement.
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PH1 World secures PHP500 million financing for Bulacan project
Hann Resorts, an operator and owner of an integrated casino-resort in the Philippines, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) worth PHP15 billion to PHP20 billion (USD256.6 million to USD342.2 million), the chief of the country’s gaming regulator said. The deal could be the largest maiden share sale in the Philippines since MREIT, Inc.’s PHP15 billion IPO in 2021, and could match the amount raised by another integrated casino-resort IPO more than a decade ago.
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Hann Resorts plans up to PHP20 billion IPO next year — gaming regulator
As part of efforts to grow the market for green development in the Philippines, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is partnering with Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) on its first sustainability-linked financing package, which will support the company in decarbonizing its commercial real-estate portfolio. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets, is investing up to PHP 14.5 billion (USD250 million) in the form of a sustainability-linked loan (SLL) for ALI.
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Consumer & Retail
Shares in Tony Tan Caktiong-led Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) rose last week following a disclosure of its acquisition of a majority stake in South Korean brand Compose Coffee. Data from the Philippine Stock Exchange showed that a total of 2.71 million shares worth PHP623.46 million were traded from July 1 to 5, positioning JFC as the 10th most active stock in the local market during that period.
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Filipino cosmetics brand Colourette has raised USD2 million (about PHP117 million) in its latest funding round—making it the first Filipino brand to secure an investment from one of the leading venture capital firms in Southeast Asia. The amount came from Singapore-headquartered DSG Consumer Partners (DSGCP).
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Local Beauty Brand Colourette Scores USD2 million Funding from Singapore-Based VC Firm
Financial Services
Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is set to raise at least PHP5 billion through the issuance of ASEAN sustainable bonds to diversify its funding sources for green projects. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, BPI said it plans to offer 1.5-year fixed-rate bonds from July 18 to Aug 2 that would be listed on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) platform on Aug 9.
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BPI eyes PHP5 billion via ASEAN sustainable bonds
Security Bank Corp. is targeting to raise at least PHP5 billion from its offering of five-year peso-denominated bonds. The notes have a tenor of five years and one month and are priced at 5.7% per annum, Security Bank said in a disclosure to the local bourse.
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BDO Unibank Inc. is targeting to raise at least PHP5 billion through the issuance of peso-denominated fixed-rate sustainability bonds, marking the bank’s third green bond offering since 2022. In a disclosure to the local bourse, the country’s largest bank said it has started offering the 1.5-year bonds with a coupon rate of 6.325 percent per annum.
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DigiCo, a digital entity owned by businesses led by Manuel V. Pangilinan (the MVP Group), has finalised separate agreements to acquire a 10% interest in Bayad Center and 100% of Multipay Corporation for a yet undisclosed amount. “Having both online and offline solutions, Bayad and Multipay are uniquely positioned to accelerate the country’s shift to digital payments,” the DigiCo Chairman said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
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DigiCo Secures Stakes in Bayad and Multipay to Firm Up Digital Payments Footprint
Healthcare & Life Science
Kindred Health Inc., a female technology (femtech) company in the Philippines, has announced the successful completion of its pre-Series A funding round, raising a total of USD5.5 million. The firm said in a statement that it is raising USD2.5 million in the first tranche. It has also secured commitments for a further USD3 million in the second tranche upon completion of key milestones.
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Digital health insurance company Hive Health raised USD6.5 million in Pre-Series A funding to transform healthcare access for more SMEs in the Philippines. Key investors of the fund raise included Sy family-backed Gentree Fund and global VC firm BEENEXT. Other institutional investors include Y Combinator, The Graduate Syndicate, Amasia, and Oak Drive Ventures. Angel investors include David Wells, former CFO of Netflix and chairman of Wise; Lee Kheng Nam, former deputy chairman of Temasek subsidiary Vertex Holding; Natasha Reyes, former owner of HMO HPPI; and Dr. Edwin Mercado, founder of one of the largest healthcare systems in the Philippines that is now part of the Healthway Qualimed network.
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Hive Health raises USD6.5 million to transform HMO access for more SMEs
Technology
Startup Packworks said it received PHP3.5 million in research funding from the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) to develop its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered inventory management tools for sari-sari stores. In a media release, Packworks said the funding from DoST- Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) will support its machine learning-powered marketing model. The AI-powered capability will be launched as an in-app service on Packworks’ Sari.PH Pro app and is expected to benefit over 270,000 sari-sari stores nationwide.
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Packworks secures PHP3.5 million for AI-powered marketing solution for sari-sari stores
Others
Sy-led SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) made its largest offshore bond issuance since 2014, raising USD500 million from the first tranche of its USD3 billion multi-issuer Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) program established last May. The investment holding company of the Sy family said the notes issuance was 3.2 times oversubscribed, with final demand reaching USD1.6 billion. The net proceeds from the fund-raising activity will be allocated for general corporate purposes.
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SMIC issues record USD500 million bonds
Note: Deal values only include disclosed completed deals with amounts restricted to local scene i.e. amounts related to the Philippine entity and/or business. Rumored, announced, or planned deals not included. Cross-posted deals are also adjusted to avoid double count.
*USD 1.00 = PHP57.6 as of 31/07/2024
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