Property developer Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) sold P489.36 million worth of shares in its real estate investment trust (REIT) arm, AREIT Inc., a move made ahead of a planned property-for-share swap deal.
ALI sold 12 million AREIT shares at P40.78 apiece through a placement agreement with UBS AG Singapore Branch, the company said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Thursday.
The transaction price represents nearly a 3 percent discount to AREIT’s closing price of P42 per share prior to the sale. The shares were sold to institutional buyers.
This sale follows ALI’s previous divestment of P2.78 billion worth of AREIT shares last December.
That transaction involved 75 million shares sold at P37 apiece to overseas investors.
AREIT secured stockholder approval in April for the property-for-share swap transaction with ALI and its subsidiaries.
Under the plan, AREIT will acquire eight prime commercial assets in Visayas and Mindanao, valued at P21 billion.
The assets include Central Bloc Corporate Center 1 and 2, Ayala Malls Central Bloc, and Seda Hotel Central Bloc in Cebu; Ayala Malls Abreeza and Abreeza Corporate Center in Davao; and Ayala Malls Centrio and Centrio Corporate Center in Cagayan de Oro.
In exchange for these properties, ALI and its subsidiaries will subscribe to 505.89 million new AREIT shares.
With this acquisition, AREIT’s assets under management (AUM) are projected to climb to P138 billion from P117 billion. Its portfolio will include a mix of office spaces, malls, hotels, and industrial land.
AREIT aims to achieve $3 billion in AUM over the next three years.
