Philippines' San Miguel moves up closing of consent solicitation

By Marisa Wong

Madison, Wis., Jan. 11 - San Miguel Brewery Inc. is advancing the closing of the consent solicitation to amend the terms and condition of its PHP 38.8 billion of bonds to Jan. 12, according to a 17-C filing with the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission.

The consent solicitation, which began on Dec. 26, was originally scheduled to expire at 4 a.m. ET on Jan. 27, with the early tender deadline set for Jan. 12.

The affected bonds include the company's 8¼% series A bonds due 2012, 8 7/8% series B bonds due 2014 and 10½% series C bonds due 2019.

San Miguel announced in December that it wants to replace the minimum current ratio (current assets to current liabilities) of 1.00 to 1.00 with a minimum interest coverage ratio (consolidated EBITDA to gross interest expense) of 4.75 to 1.00.

The company said that the minimum interest coverage ratio is a better measure of financial health, because it indicates whether the company has sufficient margin in operating profit to cover increases in the cost of debt.

The company needs to obtain consents from holders of at least 51% of the bonds.

San Miguel said it will pay holders of record as of Dec. 8 who deliver their consents by the expiration date a consent fee of PHP 1.25 per PHP 1,000 principal amount of bonds. Holders who deliver their consents by the early deadline will receive an additional PHP 1.00 for each PHP 1,000 of bonds.

ING Bank NV, Manila Branch is the adviser for the consent solicitation. BDO Capital and Investment Corp. and First Metro Investment Corp. are the joint lead associates. Other associates include BPI Capital Corp., China Banking Corp., the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd., RCBC Capital Corp., SB Capital Investment Corp. and Standard Chartered Bank. Bank of the Philippine Islands - Asset Management and Trust Group and Philippine Depository & Trust Corp. are the trustee and registrar, respectively.

San Miguel Brewery, a subsidiary of San Miguel Corp., is a Mandaluyong City, Philippines-based producer of beer.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.