Filinvest Land okays P12.3-B property acquisition

Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) has approved the acquisition of three prime properties in Metro Manila in line with efforts to increase recurring income from its property portfolio.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, FLI said payment for the real estate assets in PBCom, Festival Supermall and Northgate Cyberzone will be done through a share swap of FLI shares and assumption of certain debts.

Colliers International Philippines, an independent, internationally-known third-party appraiser, valued the three properties at P12.3 billion.

Under the proposed transaction, FLI will issue 5.64 billion common shares to relevant vendors and assume P2.5 billion in debts. This translates into a discount of 15 percent to the independent valuation of the properties based on FLI’s 30-day volume weighted average closing share price. The FLI shares have an implied value of P1.74 per share.

FLI said the acquisition of interests in Cyberzone Properties Inc. (CPI) and Filinvest Asia Corp. (FAC) will add over 105,000 gross leasable square meters of high quality office/BPO/call center space to FLI’s portfolio, making it one of the largest portfolio of BPO properties among Philippine real estate developers.

Based on current development plans, this total is expected to jump to 355,000 gross leasable space in the next few years.

"The acquisition of these three major assets by FLI, the Filinvest group’s main publicly-listed real estate vehicle will increase its asset base, diversify its income sources, and allow FLI’s investors to participate in the booming BPO sector. FLI believes this move will provide strong and stable recurring revenues and add development potential to its existing revenue stream," FLI said in a statement.

The FLI board also recommended the grant of a 25-percent stock dividend and an increase in its capital stock to 41 billion shares.

FLI, the property arm of Gotianun-owned holding firm Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC), is eyeing at least a 20-percent growth in sales this year given the strong performance of its housing businesses in the first half.

Sales for the six months to June this year reached P2.12 billion, an increase of 22 percent from P1.74 billion the previous year.

FLI is one of the largest real estate developers in the country with an asset base of P28 billion and stockholders’ equity of P18 billion as of end-2005. After the acquisition of the three assets, FLI’s total assets are expected to reach P40 billion with stockholders’ equity of P28 billion.

To date, FLI has focused mainly on residential developments for the affordable and middle-income markets, both within and outside Metro Manila. It is a major developer of successful large township developments complete with all amenities such as schools, hospitals and commercial centers within easy reach of residents.

FLI is also the pioneer developer of entrepreneurial business parks called Asenso Villages designed to meet the needs of small and medium sized businesses.

The Filinvest Group has been in the residential and commercial development business for over 50 years and has developed over 1,800 hectares of raw land into homes for close to 100,000 families, as well as over 600,000 square meters of office/commercial/high-rise residential space.