Posted on July 13, 2014 09:59:07 PM [
BusinessWorld Online ]
THE REAL estate arm of the Ongpin
group is now in better shape following the settlement of dispute with its
former partner, UK-based Ashmore group, its president said.
“Alphaland Corp. is a much healthier company
now because we have resolved the issue with Ashmore,” Alphaland President Mario
A. Oreta said in an interview.
He noted that the P2.5 billion that
Alphaland will receive from Ashmore as part of the settlement will help
bankroll its most recent project, The City Club, in Makati City.
The City Club is an exclusive health
and leisure facility at the Alphaland Makati Place featuring a fully equipped,
“state-of-the-art” athletic complex, private meeting rooms and function halls,
and eight specialty restaurants.
The upscale property developer is
cleared to sell up to 3,000 club shares and Mr. Oreta said the company has
already sold close to a thousand shares.
In December 2010, the initial offering
for the membership shares were priced at half a million pesos each,
appreciating to P1.5 million after three years.
Residential units at the Alphaland
Makati, which automatically come with a membership at The City Club, will be
turned over to the buyers by 2015.
“There are 500 [residential] units,
and we have already sold 180,” Mr. Oreta said. “Our club is really for the
younger guys who would like to belong to a club. It’s not a club for the rich
and famous, we want people who earned their money to come here.”
The firm is also set to top off the
Alphaland Makati by October this year, and will be turned over to buyers by
December 2015.
“We are behind schedule but it’s
manageable, it’s not too far away; because we had a redesign issue and we have
also resolved our issue with Ashmore,” Mr. Oreta said, noting that while the
company still has enough funds for now, it would have to turn to banks next
year.
“Maybe another P2.5 or 3 billion. I
don’t know the figures; all I know is that we still have to augment it by bank
borrowing,” he said.
Alphaland was a joint venture between
Mr. Ongpin -- the country’s 14th richest man -- and Ashmore. Their partnership
turned sour after Mr. Ongpin’s group charged the latter with misrepresentation
of a sale.
In a June 6 disclosure, Alphaland said
it signed a definitive agreement with the Ashmore group to transfer some
Alphaland properties in exchange of its departure from the company and P2.5
billion in cash.
The assets to be transferred are:
Alphaland Makati Tower, Inc., Alphaland Marina Club, Inc. and Alphaland Marina
Corp.; 50% ownership of the Alphaland group in Alphaland Bay City Corp., and
60% ownership in the Boracay Gateway project.
On the other hand, Alphaland will
remain in possession of Alphaland Southgate Tower and Mall; Alphaland Makati
Place, including The City Club; Alphaland Balesin Island Club; and Alphaland
Baguio Mountain Lodge Homes.
Asked to comment on the asset
transfer, Mr. Oreta said: “Of course we’re happy. We are.”
Alphaland’s net income rose 46.28% to
P2.75 billion in the nine months to September 2013, from P1.88 billion a year
earlier.
Revenue rose 34.62% to P530.91
million, while costs and expenses doubled to P667.28 million from P321.99
million.
Alphaland last traded on Jan. 20 at
P17.48. -- Daphne J. Magturo
________________________________________________________________
