ALI raises Trinoma stake to 73.24%

MANILA, Philippines - Property powerhouse Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) has raised its stake anew in the owner and operator of the Trinoma commercial center in Quezon City, spending about P2 billion over the past three months to bolster its shareholdings in North Triangle Depot Commercial Corp. (NTDCC) by nearly half.

ALI said yesterday said it bought out the remaining 2.88-percent interest of Allante Realty and Development Corp. and DBH Inc. for a total amount of P229 million.

The newly-acquired shares comprised of 167,548 common shares and 703,904 preferred shares.

The acquisition further hikes ALI’s ownership in NTDCC from 70.36 percent to 73.24 percent.

“This acquisition is aligned with ALI’s thrust of expanding its leasing business,” the property arm of the country’s oldest conglomerate said.

DBH and Allante previously owned 4.08-percent interest each in NTDCC.

ALI in December last year already purchased a combined 5.29-percent DBH and Allante shares in NTDCC for P422.5 million.

Aside from DBH and Allante’s interests, ALI has also successfully acquired all of the 15.79-percent  equity interest held by Anglo Philippine Holdings Corp., the Ramos family’s investment holding firm, in NTDCC.

From its 49.29-percent shareholdings in NTDCC in early December last year, ALI has already spent a total of P1.91 billion to beef up its stake in Trinoma.