Property developer Ayala Land Inc. is taking a majority control of Malaysian development and construction company MCT Bhd by acquiring an additional 17.24-percent stake for 202.5 million Malaysian ringgit, or around P2.55 billion.
Ayala Land said in a disclosure to the stock exchange wholly-owned unit Regent Wise Investments Ltd. signed a share purchase agreement with Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Goh Ming Choon, a major shareholder of MCT, to acquire 230,115,574 ordinary shares in the Malaysian firm.
This will bring Ayala Land’s shareholdings in MCT to 50.19 percent from 32.95 percent.
Ayala Land said RWIL would conduct a mandatory take-over offer in accordance with the laws of Malaysia, once the share purchase agreement became unconditional.
“This increase in ownership will strengthen ALI’s commitment to enhance MCT’s operations and expand its business further. This will also provide ALI with a greater opportunity to take advantage of the growth potential and long-term prospects of the real estate sector in Malaysia and will affirm ALI’s role as a key player in the Asean property sector,” Ayala Land said.
“With ALI’s solid track record in developing large-scale, integrated, mixed-use and sustainable estates across the Philippines and in growing its diversified product lines, we believe that it is in a highly-capable position to boost the performance and enhance the value of MCT,” it said.
Ayala Land first invested in MCT in 2015, a move that enabled it to enter the Malaysian market and become a key player in the country’s real estate market.
It initially acquired 9.16-percent interest in MCT through a private placement with $43 million (P1.9 billion).
Ayala Land’s stake in MCT went up to 32.95 percent in the same year after it entered into call option agreements with the two founders and majority shareholders of the Malaysian company.
MCT Bhd, established in 1999 as a construction company, is now a property development company specializing in mixed-use projects that include retail, office, hotel and mid- to affordable residential units.
MCT Bhd is listed under the main market of Bursa Malaysia and has several ongoing projects in OneCitySubang Jaya and Cyberjaya and land bank in Dengkil, 1.5 kilometers away south of Cyberjaya, all located in Klang Valley in Malaysia.
It has an existing land bank of over 540.2 acres, of which only 20.4 acres have been fully developed.