CIRTEK SETS DIVIDEND RATE FOR USD SHARES

CIRTEK Holdings Philippines Corp. said on Friday it had set the dividend rate for its planned dollar-denominated preferred B-2 shares at 6.125 percent after securing the approval of the Philippine Stock Exchange and Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cirtek earlier announced plans to issue dollar-denominated stocks with a base size of $120 million and an overallotment option of up to $80 million to fund further expansion, debt retirement, and complement its recent purchase of Quintel, a leading antenna solutions provider in the United States.

Cirtek acquired 100 percent of Quintel last July for $ 77 million in a bid to expand its business portfolio.

The first tranche of preferred shares totaling $60 million will be offered to the public from November 16 to 29. Listing of the shares on the local bourse is expected on

“Cirtek, being prudent, only took demand at an acceptable rate of 6.125 percent. The issue size of $60 million could support the growth target of the company moving forward,” BPI Capital Corp. head of debt capital markets Luis Cruz said.

“There is still an $80 million oversubscription option that will allow the company to service the expected demand come the offer period,” he added.

The company mandated RCBC Capital and BPI Capital to arrange the sale of the dollar-denominated stocks.

Upon listing, Cirtek will be the second firm to list dollardenominated shares following Monte Pacific Ltd.