DoubleDragon eyes tag as dividend machine

Property developer DoubleDragon Properties has completed a P4.3-billion re-initial public offering (IPO), a key component of its goal to transform itself into a “recurring dividend machine” in two years.

Apart from raising fresh funds for expansion, the equity deal widened its public float to 30.11 percent from 25.62 percent.

The completion of the follow-on offering also marks DoubleDragon’s graduation from the “startup” phase into a company that is “ready to capture its full potential,” DoubleDragon chair and chief executive Edgar Sia II said during the listing ceremonies at the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday.

“We’re intricately building, step by step, a recurring dividend machine, poised to be ready by 2020,” he said.

DoubleDragon listed 143.37 million new common shares that were sold at P30 apiece, 74 percent of which were taken up by foreign investors, Sia said. Of these, 135 million represented firm offer shares, while 8.37 million shares were issued out of the oversubscription portion.

Shares of DoubleDragon rose by 1.2 percent to close yesterday at P25.35 per share, moving closer to the follow-on offering price.

“As we conclude this followon offering, the whole DoubleDragon team can confidently say that it’s now all systems go to make the 2020 vision of 1.2 million square meters (sq m) of leasable space happen,” Sia said.

“Then, once that 2020 goal is fully executed two and a half years from today, that solid foundation will definitely open the doors for a far brighter future for DoubleDragon, and while the company pursues new opportunities, its string of hard assets built along the way continue to grow in value,” he said.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to fully fund the roll-out of 100,000 sq m of leasable industrial warehouse space to be located in various parts of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and fuel the company’s hospitality arm to achieve its goal of reaching 5,000 hotel rooms by 2020.