Pulse to float another bond, do APO later
PULSE I NVESTMENTS Limited is heading to the bond market for fresh capital to finance construction of phase one of the Pulse Homes residential development, a transaction that Executive Chairman Kingsley Cooper said should be finalised in six weeks, around mid-June.
He declined to comment on the size of the bond to be floated.
Pulse Homes is a 30-unit development, and the bond proceeds will build the first 15 residences.
The modelling and hospitality company turned to the debt market for capital after the pandemic upended its plan to raise equity financing via an additional public offering of shares, last year. Pulse is still planning to execute the APO at a future date.
“Our immediate fundraising will satisfy our current needs while we plan for an APO in a more robust post-pandemic period,” Cooper said.
The company already raised $1.2 billion in private financing in April, which included a loan of $771 million from Cooper. Neither the terms of the loan from Cooper nor t he other $440 million borrowed from an unnamed financial institution were disclosed.
The new borrowings happened after the close of the March third quarter, and should be booked later. Meanwhile, the company added $140 million in new loans in the quarter, the source of which is unclear, pushing its long-term borrowings to $394 million at that point. Pulse’s earnings for the quarter spiked by 44 per cent to $366 million. Nine-month profit at $928 million outperformed the 2020 period by $200 million.
The funds raised in April are being used to retire debt, and finance property acquisitions. Pulse is paying Cooper $600 million for the Villa Ronai property that it operates but which was personally held by the chairman and company founder. Pulse also said it was in the process of acquiring property adjoining Villa Ronai.