Century Properties Group (CPG) said Friday it fully acquired PHirst, its first-home residential venture, five years after forming a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp.
CPG’s board of directors approved in May 2023 the company’s acquisition of a 40-percent ownership stake previously held by Mitsubishi in two entities—Phirst Park Homes Inc. (PPHI) and Tanza Properties Inc. (TPI) via a share purchase agreement.
CPG said that subject to regulatory approvals, the acquisition was cleared by the Philippine Competition Commission in August and creditors.
CPG executive chairman and Ambassador Jose Antonio noted the strategic importance of the acquisition. “This pivotal move allows us to offer greater value to our stakeholders now that CPG is the 100 percent owner of a fast growing and high margin business,” he said.
PPHI completed the launch of 15 projects it committed to deliver during its formation in 2017. In 2022, CPG established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Century PHirst Corp. (CPC), to expand its market presence by entering the socialized and economic housing and mid-income residential markets.
The expanded market brought about broadened offerings under new brands: PHirst Sights Bay for socialized and economic segments, PHirst Editions Batulao catering to the mid-income market and PHirst Centrale Hermosa—a mixed-use township encompassing residential (Impressions), commercial (Fairgrounds), and retail (Boroughs) establishments. The expansion widened PHirst’s price point offerings, ranging from P580,000 to P8 million.
PHirst said it continues to thrive in its core affordable product line (P1.5 to P3.5 million) as it launched its first community in Nueva Ecija with PHirst Park Homes Gapan, followed by the opening of PHirst Impressions Batulao in Nasugbu, Batangas in the first and second quarter of 2023, respectively.
It said it expects to launch two more projects this year, bringing its total portfolio to 21 active developments.
PHirst broke ground on its inaugural venture in the Visayas Region via PHirst Park Homes Bacolod in early November, marking a step forward to achieving nationwide presence.
“We are committed to addressing the housing needs of first-time homebuyers as well as to explore further expansion opportunities. Now as the sole owner of PHirst, which caters to our core price point, and with our expansion into new brands broadening our product and price offerings, we now have a platform to address the entire spectrum of the country’s housing backlog,” CPG president and chief executive Marco Antonio said.
Mitsubishi Corp. executive vice president and group CEO for urban development group Takuya Kuga said that “together with CPG, MC was able to grow the value of PPHI by contributing to various fields.”
“The outcome we initially projected to achieve in ten years has been substantially realized within five years,” he said.
“Century Properties has been a great partner from the very beginning. This is our second investment with them and in both instances, we achieved healthy financial returns with our successful exits. We believe in their stewardship of the business for the years to come. We continue our dialogue with Century as we look for more investments in the Philippines and the Asian region,” Kuga said.
Antonio affirmed the enduring relationship between Century Properties and Mitsubishi Corp., hinting at plans for future collaborations.