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Friday, March 29, 2024

Ayala sells toll road unit to Villar Group

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Conglomerate Ayala Corp. said Friday it will sell its entire stake in the company that holds the concession for the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway project to the Villar Group for P3.8 billion.

Ayala said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it signed an investment agreement with Prime Asset Ventures Inc. of the Villar Group over the sale its 100-percent ownership in MCX Project Company Inc.

The deal is subject to the consent of the project’s grantor, the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The conglomerate said the sale of MCXPCI is aligned with its strategic priority to realize value from certain non-core assets and sharpen its focus on the continued expansion of core businesses in real estate, banking, telecommunication, and power, and scaling up emerging businesses in healthcare and logistics.

“The transaction also supports the conglomerate’s target to raise $1 billion from value realization initiatives by 2023, which is executed through a combination of strategic partnerships and divestment of certain non-core assets,” Ayala said.

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“The proceeds will be used to fund future investments and further strengthen the company’s balance sheet,” it said.

Ayala said that as of January 2022, it executed P27 billion worth of value realization initiatives, including sale of shares in AC Energy’s thermal assets and Manila Water Co. Inc. and the entry of a new investor in Mynt, the operator of mobile wallet GCash.

MCX Expressway is a four-kilometer controlled-access toll expressway linking southern part of Cavite to Muntinlupa. It is the first private-public participation project under the Aquino administration.

Ayala signed in 2012 a 30-year concession agreement for the operation of MCX Expressway. It invested P2.2 billion for the project including a P902-million cash payment to the government.

Ayala earlier said it would spend a record P285 billion for capital expenditures this year, up 25 percent from P228 billion in 2021.

The conglomerate said net income climbed 62 percent in 2021 to P27.8 billion, fueled by divestment gains and improved performance of property and banking units. It booked gains from the re-measurement of its stake in Manila Water following the sale of secondary shares to Trident Water and stake in GNPower Kauswagan Ltd. Co.

Excluding gains and other one-offs, Ayala’s core net income decreased 10 percent to P23.5 billion in 2021 from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, PAVI has been ramping up its business and is engaged in telecommunication, water and power generation.

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