Posted on October 07, 2013 10:40:50 PM
[ BusinessWorld Online ]
PROPERTY DEVELOPER Aboitiz Land, Inc.
(AboitizLand) has closed a deal to acquire a controlling stake in an industrial
estate company, AboitizLand’s listed parent Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV)
said in a disclosure yesterday.
“AboitizLand’s purchase of 60% of the
issued and outstanding shares of Lima Land, Inc. was consummated today after
the closing conditions for the share purchase agreement dated Oct. 3… were
met,” the disclosure read.
Alsons Land Corp., which previously
owned the shares, earned P1.36 billion from the transaction, which left
Japanese firm Marubeni Corp. with the remaining 40% stake.
The purchase price includes Lima
Land’s interests in its wholly owned subsidiaries, Lima Utilities Corp. and
Lima Water Corp., AEV had said in a disclosure on Friday last week.
Lima Land is the owner and operator of
LiMA Technology Center, a Philippine Economic Zone Authority-registered
industrial park in Batangas. It counts printer maker Epson Philippines Corp.;
Yamaha Motor Philippines, Inc.; technology firm Philippines TRC, Inc.; K&K
Molding, Inc.; Daiho (Philippines), Inc.; and Hitachi Cable Philippines, Inc.
among its locators.
AboitizLand, the real estate arm of
the Aboitiz group, is the developer and operator of two economic zones, namely:
the Mactan Economic Zone II in Barangay Mactan, Lapu Lapu City and West Cebu
Industrial Park in Balamban, Cebu, through its subsidiary, Cebu Industrial Park
Developers, Inc.
AEV Chief Executive Officer Erramon I.
Aboitiz told reporters last month that his group was looking for more
opportunities in the industrial estate business as there were “many foreign
investors that are looking at the Philippines.”
Mr. Aboitiz said the company could
begin expanding Lima Land next year as the industrial park was nearing full
capacity.
AboitizLand is also the Aboitiz
Group’s corporate vehicle for a number of infrastructure projects offered under
the government’s public-private partnership (PPP) program.
The company, in partnership with Ayala
Corp., was prequalified to bid for a P17.5-billion PPP project to expand and
operate Mactan Cebu International Airport.
It is also one of the groups
interested in a P35-billion project to build Cavite-Laguna Expressway.
AEV, the parent of AboitizLand, saw
profit fall 3.62% to P14.37 billion in the first semester from P14.91 billion a
year ago.
Shares of AEV grew 40 centavos or
0.84% to P48.10 apiece yesterday from P47.70 apiece last Friday. -- Cliff
Harvey C. Venzon
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