Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is expected to sell more shares in its real estate investment trust company AREIT Inc. to comply with the required minimum public ownership.
Prior to last Friday’s transaction, ALI chief finance officer Augusto Bengzon said ALI needed to sell between P8 billion and P9 billion worth of AREIT shares before the planned P28.6-billion asset infusion.
ALI on Friday reported that it raised P5.64 billion from the sale of 181 million AREIT shares priced at P31.10 apiece. This means that ALI should sell another P2.37 to P3.37 billion worth of AREIT shares to meet the requirements.
Bengzon said the planned share sale would be presented during the company’s annual stockholders meeting for shareholders’ approval.
ALI is set to inject P28.6 billion worth of assets in AREIT this year. These assets include ALI’s Makati flagship assets Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2, the property firm’s most premium office tower located at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue; luxury mall Greenbelt 3 and 5; Holiday Inn and Suites Makati at Ayala Center; and Seda Ayala Center Cebu.
ALI and its subsidiaries will receive 841,259 million AREIT primary common shares in exchange of the asset infusion.
The deal, still subject for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval, will cause AREIT’s public float to fall below the 33-percent requirement for listed REIT firms.
The asset infusion in is aligned with AREIT’s objective to significantly expand and diversify its portfolio to capitalize on various growth opportunities across real estate sectors.
This will also provide AREIT shareholders with the potential for long-term capital appreciation while earning guaranteed lease income on the property.
ALI infused a total of P59-billion assets into AREIT since the latter held its initial public offering in 2020.
The new infusions will bring AREIT’s assets under management (AUM) to P117 billion, its gross leasable building area to more than 1 million square meters and its leased industrial land area to 286 hectares by 2024.