THE real estate investment trust (REIT) of Tan-led Megaworld Corp. will increase its property portfolio by 48% to 482,000 square meters (sq.m.) following the planned acquisition of six office properties worth P13.15 billion.
MREIT will acquire Two West Campus, Ten West Campus, and One Le Grand in McKinley West; One Fintech and Two Fintech in Iloilo Business Park; and Davao Finance Center in Davao Park District in exchange for 926,162,000 MREIT secondary shares at P14.20 apiece, the listed company said in a statement over the weekend.
The acquisition will add 157,000 sq.m. to the company’s portfolio. The deal is awaiting the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The transaction represents a premium of 10% over MREIT’s closing price of P12.94 per share on May 10.
“The purchase price of the properties is based on appraisal reports and validated by a third-party fairness opinion, which were presented to and approved by the company’s related party transactions committee and board of directors,” MREIT said.
MREIT President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin L. Tan said the acquisition brings the company closer to its target of having 500,000 sq.m. under its office portfolio by yearend. “This transaction not only supports the sustained growth of MREIT but is also dividend accretive to our shareholders,” he said.
“We are immediately working on the next set of acquisitions to reach our target assets under management before the year concludes,” he added.
MREIT’s portfolio covers 18 office properties located in four Megaworld premier townships, namely 1800 Eastwood Avenue, 1880 Eastwood Avenue, and E-Commerce Plaza in Eastwood City; One World Square, Two World Square, Three World Square, 8/10 Upper McKinley, 18/20 Upper McKinley, and World Finance Plaza in McKinley Hill.
Other properties under MREIT include One Techno Place, Two Techno Place, Three Techno Place, One Global Center, Two Global Center, Festive Walk 1B, and Richmonde Tower in Iloilo Business Park; and One West Campus and Five West Campus in McKinley West.
In the first quarter, Megaworld saw an 8% jump in its attributable net income to P4.4 billion as consolidated revenue improved by 16% to P18.87 billion led by higher residential sales as well as mall and hotel revenues. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
