[ manilastandardtoday.com ]
Ayala Land Inc. is studying the
possibility of raising fresh capital to partially fund its P24.3-billion
winning bid for the 74-hectare Food Terminal Inc.
“We are evaluating additional fund
raising, if needed,” Ayala Land treasurer Augusto Bengzon said in an interview.
“We are still looking at our numbers. We will get a better view very soon.”
Ayala Land emerged as the winning
bidder for the 74-hectare FTI, one of the last remaining large parcels of land
in Metro Manila ready for immediate development.
The property company committed to make
an upfront payment of P19.5 billion and pay the balance a year after. Ayala
Land said it planned to transform the area into another business district.
Other business districts currently
being developed by Ayala Land are Makati central business district, Bonifacio
Global City in Taguig, Vertis North in Quezon City and Cebu Park District.
Ayala Land said while its bid was P9
billion higher than the second highest offer, it acquired the property at a
significant discount to land values in Makati and Bonifacio Global City, which
continued to appreciate overtime due to thoughtful planning and continuous
development.
The property firm raised P15 billion
from the issuance of fixed-rate callable bonds in May and another P13.6 billion
from a top-up placement in July. It plans to use proceeds from the
offering to partly fund the group’s
massive land banking program worth about P36 billion, spread over a two to three-year
period.
A portion of the capital raised will
also be used to finance Ayala Land’s strategic partnership with Ortigas group,
which owns huge tracks of land in Quezon City, Pasig, San Juan and Mandaluyong.
Ayala Land said earlier it allotted
P15 billion in initial investment for the strategic partnership.
Ayala Land reported a 38-percent
increase in first-half net income to P4.3 billion from P3.4 billion posted in
the same period last year. Consolidated
revenues rose 18 percent to P25 billion from P21.2 billion during the period.
The company also increased its
programmed capital spending for the year by P10 billion in a bid to acquire
more land for future development. Ayala Land originally set aside P37 billion
for capital spending in 2012.
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