AREIT executes share-for-property exchange worth P28.6B

AREIT, Inc. announced on Wednesday a transaction exchanging shares for five properties valued at P28.6 billion.

The swap deal involves AREIT, Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) and its subsidiaries Greenhaven Property Ventures, Inc. and Cebu Insular Hotel Co., Inc., as well as ACEN Corp. unit Buendia Christiana Holdings Corp. (BCHC), the listed company said in a stock exchange disclosure.

The deed of exchange involves the issuance of 841.26 million primary common AREIT shares to ALI, Greenhaven, Cebu Insular, and BCHC at P34 per share in exchange for the ownership of Ayala Triangle Tower 2 office building, Greenbelt 3 and 5, Holiday Inn and Suites Makati, Seda Ayala Center Cebu, and a 276-hectare industrial land in Palauig, Zambales.

AREIT is the real estate investment trust of ALI.

“The properties are expected to contribute further to AREIT’s operating cash flows, boosting dividends per share…,” AREIT said.

“The asset-for-share swap would be accretive and potentially increase the overall yield to approximately 6.96% after the new assets are infused. Estimated yields and total shareholder return are subject to actual operating performance and market conditions,” it added.

In a separate statement, ALI’s hotel unit AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corp. (AHRC) said it is aiming to secure Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) Zero Carbon certification for its portfolio by 2026 as part of its sustainability commitment.

AHRC said it signed an agreement with the International Finance Corp. to secure EDGE Zero Carbon certification for 2,826 rooms across its portfolio, marking the first for a hotel group in the country.

EDGE Zero Carbon is a globally recognized net zero building certification and the highest of three levels of certification for EDGE.

EDGE is a green building certification system that promotes resource-efficient, low-carbon buildings, requiring a 20% improvement for each of energy use, water use, and embodied carbon in materials compared to the base case.

“While we will initially target EDGE Zero Carbon Certification for 11 of our hotel buildings with 2,826 rooms, the view is to add more to this in the future,” Ayala’s Head of Hotels Group Javier Hernandez said.

AREIT saw a 43% jump in its 2023 net income to P4.93 billion led by increased occupancy rates and asset acquisitions. The company’s revenue increased by 41% to P7.14 billion.

For its part, ALI recorded a 32% increase in its 2023 net income to P24.5 billion led by strong property demand and consumer activity. Its consolidated revenue jumped by 18% to P148.9 billion

AREIT shares fell by 0.71% or 25 centavos to P35 while ALI stocks dropped by 3.64% or P1.20 to P31.80 per share on Wednesday. —