By Jenniffer
B. Austria | Posted on Apr. 27, 2013 at 12:02am |
[
manilastandardtoday.com ]
Ayala Land
Inc., the biggest property company, said Friday it agreed to acquire some
properties of Boulevard Holdings Properties, a listed hotel and resort
developer owned by the Panlilio family.
“The
agreement is subject to obtaining the requisite approvals and compliance with
other conditions after the conduct of due diligence and related studies,” Ayala
Land said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
Share price
of Boulevard jumped 15.5 percent to P0.179 from Thursday’s close of P0.155
apiece after the disclosure. Ayala Land gained 0.6 percent to P31.20.
Boulevard
said in a separate disclosure Ayala Land just took a preliminary interest in
some of its assets or operating units.
“We wish to
emphasize that BHI is intensely involved in the development of its resort chain
throughout the country; and thus its landholdings are related to the growth of
its high-end Fridays Hotel brand. It is logical to also develop some related
resort residences maybe with a counter party or not,” Boulevard said.
The company’s
board said it authorized chairman Jose Marcel Panlilio to sign the terms of
reference on April 25 and the final agreement on or before May 10.
Boulevard was
established in 1994 as a holding company with primary interests in the
development of hotels and resorts and tourism-related businesses and investments
in strategic land locations and rentable real estate properties.
The company
is seeking joint venture partners to develop its 3,000-hectare Puerto Azul
property in Ternate, Cavite.
The Puerto
Azul property is envisioned to be master-planned resort project, which includes
condominiums, hotels, retirement village, golf courses and retail developments.
Boulevard is
also the owner and operator of Friday’s Boracay Island Beach Resort in Boracay
Island, Aklan, Crown One Land Inc. and Friday’s Puerto Galera Inc.
Ayala Land
earlier said it would launch 69 projects this year with total investments of
P129 billion, amid a robust growth momentum in the property sector.
Ayala Land
allotted P65.5 billion in capital expenditures for the year, which it would use
for the completion of ongoing developments and launch new residential and
leasing projects.
“For 2013, we
have earmarked another P65.5 billion primarily for the completion of ongoing
developments and launch of 69 new projects with a combined value of P129 billion,
which will help sustain the company’s growth trajectory over the coming years,”
Ayala Land chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael earlier said.
The developer
spent P71.3 billion last year, including the P22.6-billion initial payment for
the acquisition of the 74-hectare Food Terminal Inc. complex.
Ayala Land
posted a record profit of P9 billion in 2012, up 27 percent from P7.1 billion
recorded in 2011.
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