SPH prices new perpetual at 4%

Singapore

SINGAPORE Press Holdings (SPH) has launched a perpetual issue on Monday, its second such deal this year.

The issue, a perpetual non-callable 5.5 years, has been priced at 4 per cent, lower than an initial price guidance in the 4.25 per cent area, according to a term sheet seen by The Business Times.

An update in the late afternoon said the order book exceeded S$600 million and the issue size was capped at S$300 million.

The perpetuals may be called by the issuer after five and a half years. If they are not redeemed at that time, the distribution rate will be reset at the end of year 5.5 and every five years thereafter based on the prevailing Singapore dollar five-year swap offer rate plus the initial spread and the step-up margin of 100 basis points on May 12, 2025.

After deducting issue expenses, the issuance proceeds will be used for general working capital, capital expenditure and corporate requirements (including acquisitions and investments), and/or refinancing existing borrowings of the issuer and its subsidiaries, it said.

SPH - which publishes The Business Times - had priced a S$150 million 4.5 per cent perpetual in late May, following a S$1 billion multicurrency debt issuance programme announced early that month.

The total orderbook of the May perpetual stood in excess of S$800 million. Sold at 100 par, those notes have risen and on Monday were quoted at 102.792, according to Bloomberg.

In August, retail landlord SPH Reit, which is sponsored by SPH, also issued a perpetual - S$300 million 4.1 per cent - under its S$1 billion multi-currency debt issuance programme set up that month.

The SPH Reit perpetual has also performed well, and stood at 101.065 on Monday.

SPH last month reported a 23.4 per cent decline in net profit for the full year ended Aug 31 to S$213.2 million compared to a year ago, largely due to the absence of a one-off gain from the sale of the treasury and investment portfolio as it redeploys the capital to invest in steadier, more predictable defensive, yield-generating assets.