REGULATORS APPROVED yesterday a 19-fold capital hike for Villar-led holding firm Communities Philippines, Inc. to P1 billion, which it will use to streamline the holdings of listed parent Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc.
Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed that Vista Land had bought P500 million of the capital hike using shares in four Crown Communities companies.
The Crown Communities group handles Vista Land’s low-end property projects outside Metro Manila.
The 11-company group accounted for more than a quarter of Vista Land’s P5.7-billion revenues in the first half.
Aside from Crown Communities, Vista Land also owns high- and mid-end home-builders Brittany Corp., Crown Asia and Camella Homes & Communities.
The Communities Philippines board approved the increase in capital stock to 10 million shares at P100 on Aug. 8.
In a phone interview, Vista Land Comptroller Cynthia J. Jabarez said the firm would buy the remaining shares.
Vista Land, she added, had swapped its shares in the four Crown Communities companies for stocks of Communities Philippines to simplify the revenue consolidation of its subsidiaries.
Ms. Jabarez said Vista Land would now only hold shares in Communities Philippines instead of owning stocks of its operating units.
She said the firm’s remaining Crown Communities group would also be transferred to Communities Philippines.
In a separate phone interview, Vista Land President and Chief Executive Officer Benjamarie Therese N. Serrano said the company would pursue its plan of raising P2 billion from the debt markets.
The company has yet to decide when it will borrow the money, she added.
Vista Land has allotted P13 billion for capital expenditures this year. It expects to complete 19 projects worth P26 billion in the second half.
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