Ayala Land, ABS-CBN wrap up Mother Ignacia deal
Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and ABS-CBN Corp. have consummated their P6.24-billion deal involving the sale of part of the latter’s property along Mother Ignacia Avenue in Quezon City.
In separate disclosures on Wednesday, the companies said they had signed the deeds of absolute sale. This is related to ALI’s acquisition of 30,000 square meters (sq m) of ABS-CBN’s 44,027.3-sq m property following the Philippine Competition Commission’s (PCC) approval.
The total amount will be paid in installments over a 10-year period.
According to ABS-CBN, it will be consolidating its operations in the remaining 14,027.3 sq m, which will house its offices and studios.
Currently, the entire property houses several buildings, such as production facilities.
“Proceeds of the sale of the property shall be used to partially pay and service its outstanding bank loans, pursuant to the real estate mortgage between ABS-CBN and its lenders,” the media company said.
As of end-June, the total liabilities of ABS-CBN stood at P42.5 billion. It went off the air in 2020 when Rodrigo Duterte was President and the Congress denied the renewal of its franchise.
The two companies first signed a memorandum of agreement for the property sale in February. Back then, they said the transaction amount was a “mutually agreed valuation by the parties following arms-length negotiations and proper due diligence review.”
ALI president Anna Ma. Margarita Bautista-Dy earlier told reporters they were planning “something unique” for the property, especially since it is situated in a “quite busy area.”
She did not disclose a development timeline.
This is also not the first time that ABS-CBN attempted to sell some of its assets to raise funds.
The Lopez-led company originally planned to sell its broadband business and other related assets of subsidiary Sky Cable Corp. to PLDT Inc. for P6.75 billion. But the firms “mutually decided not to proceed” last year despite securing regulatory approval from the PCC.
