Villar firms to merge via share-swap

MANILA, Philippines - Shareholders of Villar-led Polar Property Holdings Inc. have approved management’s proposal to fold Manuela Corp. into the listed holding firm via a share swap deal.

In a statement, the Villar family said shareholders of Polar approved the consolidation of resources, businesses and assets of the company and Manuela, a move aimed at fortifying the group’s presence in the highly-competitive retail sector as well as in the development of office space catering to the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

Shareholders likewise approved a proposal to raise Polar’s authorized capital from P5.5 billion to P17 billion and the issuance of 3.53 billion common shares worth P3.53 billion in exchange for a 98 percent stake in Manuela.

In addition, shareholders approved the change of Polar’s corporate name to Starmalls Inc. to become a major player in the retailing business and to compete head on with other BPO building developers.

Manuela opened its first shopping mall in Las Piñas City in 1979 and three other malls between 1982 and 1996 -- Starmall Las Piñas Annex, Starmall EDSA in Mandaluyong and Starmall Alabang in Muntinlupa.

The Villar family took over Manuela in 2008 after the firm succumbed to the ill-effects of the Asian financial crisis in 2007.

In April 2012, or less than three months after the termination of its rehabilitation program, Manuela opened its newest mall, Starmall San Jose del Monte, a three-level structure with a gross floor area of 35,700 square meters, the first shopping complex in the biggest city in Bulacan.

The project brought Manuela’s mall portfolio to five, with an aggregate GFA of 363,000 sqm and 1,777 tenants.

Manuela also owns the Worldwide Corporate Center in Mandaluyong City, which has been accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) as an IT building and currently houses some of the major BPO players in the country, including Sykes and Stream Global.

The Starmall group has set a P15 billion capital expenditure program over the next five years as it embarks on a nationawide expansion which will include the opening of new malls in Visayas and Mindanao.