Ayala Land war chest boosted by AREIT deal

PROPERTY giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) said it intends to use the proceeds from a block sale of shares in its real estate investment trust AREIT Inc. to fund ongoing and future investments.

ALI and its wholly owned subsidiaries, AyalaLand Offices Inc. and Glensworth Development Inc., last month raised roughly P5.6 billion following the sale of 181 million common shares in AREIT at P31.10 apiece.

The property developer, in a recent filing, said proceeds would bankroll a Tarlac land acquisition, four residential projects in Metro Manila, and three office developments in Laguna, Cavite and Iloilo.

“All disbursements for such projects are intended to be distributed within one year upon receipt of the proceeds from the sale of AREIT shares,” it said.

ALI said it may develop the projects on its own or through its subsidiaries and affiliates, in which case the transfer of funding from the parent firm to the relevant unit will be done via capital infusion or shareholder financing.

The actual disbursements of projects proposed in the reinvestment plan will be monitored and reviewed on a quarterly basis, the Ayala-led company said.

A written notice, meanwhile, will be submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE), and the Bureau of Internal Revenue “in the event of changes” in the proposed disbursement plan.

“The reinvestment plan and the status of its implementation shall be included in the appropriate structured reports of Ayala Land to the SEC and the PSE,” it added.

“Any investment pursuant to the reinvestment plan shall also be disclosed by [the company] via SEC Form 17-C as such investment is made.”

The block sale of AREIT shares was in relation to the property-forshare swap deal between AREIT and ALI and its subsidiaries, Greenhaven Property Ventures Inc., Cebu Insular Hotel Co. Inc., and Buendia Christiana Holdings Corp.

ALI said the transaction was expected to be completed by the third quarter of this year, once approval is obtained from AREIT stockholders during their special meeting next week.

On Thursday, shares of the property firm ended up by 40 centavos, or 1.16 percent, to P34.90 each.