GT Capital to acquire stake in Profriends

MANILA, Philippines - GT Capital Holdings Inc., the listed investment vehicle of banking tycoon George Ty, is set to acquire a minority stake in low-cost housing developer Property Company of Friends Inc. (PCFI) for P7.24 billion.

The conglomerate is acquiring a 22.68 percent stake in PCFI, a subsidiary of Profriends Group Inc., with an option to increase its direct shareholding to 51 percent within the next three years.

GT Capital chairman Francisco Sebastian said with the acquisition, the company hopes to become a market leader in the low-cost housing segment.

“We view this acquisition as a mutually beneficial partnership for both parties. PCFI has the product expertise and the strategic land bank, while GT Capital has the financial resources and access to capital. Our partnership adds a new dimension to GT Capital’s property development portfolio and will enable our group to be one of the market leaders in the low-cost housing sector,” Sebastian said.

PCFI said the entry of GT Capital into the company would further strengthen the property firm’s position in the industry.

“The low-cost housing segment is the real sweet spot in the country’s property sector, with a supply shortage of over three million homes, which continues to grow annually. Our partnership with GT Capital will strengthen our ability to be a leading player in serving this urgent market need,” said PFCI chairman Guillermo Choa.

Choa said the potential synergies of working with other component companies in the GT Capital group would enable the company to offer its live, work, learn, play, and worship concept to many more middle-income Filipino families.

 Established in 1999, PCFI focuses on the low-cost and economic housing segments, and retail and office space leasing.

To date, it has built and sold over 36,000 affordable homes in the provinces of Cavite and Iloilo, with Lancaster New City as its flagship and largest project spanning the areas of Kawit, Imus, and General Trias.

Another major PCFI project is the Bellefort Estates in the cities of Bacoor and Dasmarinas in Cavite.

Bellefort Estates is a township development with close proximity to the newly opened Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX) that connects to the South Luzon Expressway.

Among PCFI’s ongoing projects include the Parc Regency Residences in Iloilo and the Carmona Estates in Carmona, Cavite.

As end of December last year, PCFI reported an audited net income of P3.61 billion.

GT Capital said the investment complements Federal Land’s property development projects and expands the group’s presence in the property market.

Federal Land president Alfred Ty said the company intends to offer its upper mid to high-end vertical projects and PCFI’s low-cost horizontal and mixed-use townships in key areas near Metro Manila. “Our strategic tie-up will thus be a fusion of all property sub-segments,” he said.

Apart from property, GT Capital also has interests in market-leading businesses such as banking, automotive and power generation.

Among the other companies under GT Capital are Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Toyota Motor Philippines Corp., Toyota Manila Bay Corp., Toyota Cubao Inc., Toyota Financial Services Philippines Corp., Global Business Power Corp., Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corp. and Charter Ping An Insurance Corp.