Ayala-Campos assumes $90-M Metro Pacific loan

The Ayala-Campos consortium has signed a deal with the Netherlands-based Larouge B.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Pacific Co. Ltd., for the transfer of the $90 million loan extended by the latter to its sister company Metro Pacific Corp. (MPC).

The assignment agreement, signed over the weekend, would effect the assumption of the loan by the Ayala-Campos consortium in exchange for MPC’s controlling 50.38 percent interest in Bonifacio Land Corp., the developer of the Bonifacio Global City.

On Nov. 23, 2002, the Ayala-Campos group represented by Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and Greenfield Development Corp. (GDC), respectively, signed an agreement with MPC involving the debt-to equity exchange.

Aside from the loan, ALI-GDC will assume P655 million in notes payable from BLC and another five percent of BLC shares pledged for any adustments for disclosed and undisclosed items, covering up to P1.37 billlion of adjustments at Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. (FBDC), the 55-45 percent joint venture between BLC and the Bases Conversion Development Authority.

"The execution and effectiveness of the assignment agreement is a prerequisite to the implementation of the agreement signed by ALI and Greenfield with Metro Pacific on Nov. 23, 2002," ALI’s chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

He added the consummation of the assignment agreement will still be subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions, including the approval of the First Pacific stockholders. In addition, the consideration for the payment amount of the $90 million loan will be subject in part to foreign exchange adjustment.

Under the terms and conditions of the agreement, ALI-GDC has agreed to acquire, and MPC agreed to transfer by way of dacion en pago, the controlling interest in BLC to effect the settlement of the principal amount of the aforesaid $90 million loan.

Based on the 55 hectares of semi-developed saleable land area involved in the transfer, ALI-GDC will be paying P35,000 per sqm, already adjusted for existing assets and liabilities of FBDC and BLC, but does not cover for future development costs.

In 1995, the MPC-led consortium bought the then 214-hectate property for P33,000/sqm, beating out ALI’s own bid then of P24,000/sqm.