ALI to spend $124M to triple current MCT shareholdings
Property powerhouse Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) will not have to dig deep into its pockets should the company decide to hike its stake in Malaysian development and construction company MCT Bhd. by the latter part of the year.
ALI president and chief executive officer Bernard Vincent O. Dy said the company is likely to spend $124 million or P5.5 billion to more than triple its current shareholdings in MCT.
ALI last week said it secured an option to hike its stake in MCT to 32.95 percent from its existing 9.16 percent call option agreements with the two founders and majority shareholders of MCT.
“Current market cap (of MCT) is $500 million. If you take 32.95 or one third of that roughly that will be the magnitude that we are looking, less the nine percent that we already committed,” Dy said.
The call options with MCT are exercisable for one month beginning Oct. 7 this year.
The property unit of the country’s oldest conglomerate last month made its maiden entry in Malaysia with a $43-million investment in MCT.
MCT, formerly known as GW Plastics, is a property development company specializing in mixed-use projects that include retail, office, hotel, and mid- to affordable residential.
ALI has earmarked a record P100billion in capital expenditures this year, in which only less than a fifth or P18.6 billion has been spent in the first three months of the year.
The property giant already raised P7 billion last month through the issuance of fixed-rate bonds due 2022 and is looking to raise P1 to P2 billion more through the offering of its “Homestarter” bonds.
“For the Homestarter, we’re looking at a maximum of P2 billion within the second quarter or the third quarter at the latest, small issue anyway. We’re practically done with fundraising at the company level, the rest will be on the subsidiaries,” ALI chief finance officer Jimmy Ysmael said.
ALI plans to borrow up to P20 billion this year to support the company’s aggressive expansion program which will entail an investment of P100 billion.