RLC infusing 6 additional malls into RCR

MANILA, Philippines — Gokongwei-led real estate developer Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) is infusing more mall assets into its real estate investment trust company, RL Commercial REIT Inc. (RCR), through a P10.62-billion property-for-share swap transaction.

RCR said its board has approved the property-for-share swap transaction between the company and its sponsor RLC, which involves six mall assets totaling 160,269 square meters of gross leasable area (GLA).

The mall assets to be infused are Robinsons Dumaguete, Robinsons Tagaytay, Robinsons Iligan, Robinsons Galleria South, Robinson La Union and Robinsons Naga

Under the transaction, RLC will subscribe to 1.29 billion common shares of RCR at P8.25 apiece, equivalent to a total valuation of P10.62 billion, as supported by an accredited appraiser and third-party fairness opinion.

The transaction has been approved by the board of directors of RL Fund Management Inc., the fund manager of RCR, and the related party transaction committee of RCR. 

RCR said the transaction would be subject to the approval of pertinent regulatory bodies, as applicable.

Last month, RCR director and treasurer Kerwin Max Tan said the company and its fund manager have identified a list of assets that would be infused into RCR this year.

“Barring unforeseen circumstances, depending on market conditions, we’ll probably do the infusions into two batches of assets. And the type of assets most probably will be malls,” he said.

RCR’s portfolio expanded to 38 assets by end-2025, following the infusion of nine mall assets from RLC through a tax-free property-for-share swap.

The infusion brought RCR’s GLA to 1.15 million square meters, 2.7 times its size at listing.

RCR’s portfolio currently consists of 21 mall assets and 17 office assets across 25 key locations nationwide.

Malls account for 53 percent of total GLA, while offices account for 47 percent. The company maintained 96 percent blended occupancy and a weighted average lease expiry of 4.02 years.