SAN Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB), the country’s largest beer producer, is seeking the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell P20 billion worth of  five-, seven- and 10-year bonds, a prospectus filed with regulator showed on Thursday.

SMB hired five banks for the sale, the document showed, with ING Bank N.V. appointed as issue and joint lead manager and bookrunner, together with BDO Capital and Investment Corp., HSBC Corp., SB Capital Investment Corp., and Standard Chartered Bank.

The bonds will be listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. Other details such as timing and pricing were not indicated in the prospectus.

The brewer said earlier the bond proceeds would refinance P13.6 billion worth in debt coming due in April 2012, representing the first tranche of its P38.8 billion bonds issued in 2009. It also plans to prepay part of a $300-million term facility ahead of schedule as these are still set to mature on February 2015.

Shares of SMB, which has a public ownership level of just 0.6 percent, slid 1.38 percent to P28.50 each on Thursday, giving it a market value of P439.2 billion.  

SMB reported earlier this week that net income for 2011 grew 17.4 percent to P12.2 billion as consolidated sales rose 6.3 percent to P71.9 billion. It credited gains to higher sales volumes for both international and domestic operations and an increase in selling price.

SMB, a joint venture between parent firm San Miguel Corp. and Japan’s Kirin Holdings, controls at least 95 percent of the Philippine beer market. Its brands include San Miguel Pale Pilsen, Red Horse Beer, Cerveza Negra and Gold Eagle Beer.

The company has debts amounting to P51.5 billion at the end of 2011, regulatory filings showed.