Areit Inc., the real estate investment trust of Ayala Land Inc., will conduct a third property-for-shares swap with its sponsor, involving prime property in Makati that includes a portion of its shopping mall.
The transaction, the company told regulators, involves flagship offices and malls with aggregate value of P22.48 billion for 607.55 million Areit primary common shares, as validated by a third-party fairness opinion.
The assets are located in the Makati central business district, specifically, the One Ayala Avenue East and West BPO Towers at the corner of Ayala Avenue and EDSA, as well as the Glorietta 1 and 2 shopping mall wing and BPO buildings at Ayala Center.
Also, the MarQuee mall in Angeles, Pampanga, located close to the Angeles exit of the North Luzon Expressway, will be added to Areit’s portfolio.
These assets have a combined gross leasable area of 190,000 square meters, an overall occupancy rate of 99 percent and a weighted average lease expiry of 14.5 years.
“The rebound of commercial businesses is an opportunity for Areit to widely diversify its assets with more retail buildings. The infusion of Glorietta 1 and 2 mall and BPO buildings, as well as the brand new One Ayala Avenue BPO towers, is testament to Areit as Ayala Land’s flagship REIT,” Areit president and CEO Carol T. Mills said.
Areit’s board of directors approved the transaction on March 7 subject to the approval of shareholders at the annual meeting next month and other regulatory bodies.
Ayala Land and Areit target to complete the transaction within the year.
Since its initial public offering, Areit has exceeded its growth plans with a 52 percent total shareholder return.
The company started with 153,000 square meters, equivalent to P30 billion in assets under management in 2020. By December 2021, the company has grown to 549,000 square meters, equivalent to P53 billion.
Today, Areit manages 673,000 square meters, equivalent to P64 billion, more than double since its listing at the Philippine Stock Exchange.
This new infusion nearly triples its assets to P87 billion and boost its GLA over five-fold to 863,000 square meters from when it became public.
