SM bags Muntinlupa land triple size of MOA
Conglomerate SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) is set to acquire from a subsidiary a vast tract of land in Susana Heights, Muntinlupa spanning 184 hectares (ha)— about three times as large as the sprawling Mall of Asia complex in Pasay—to further widen its footprint in the populous metropolis.
The property is also about two-thirds of the scale of the much-awaited 300-ha Pasay reclamation project of SMIC’s property arm, SM Prime Holdings, along Manila Bay.
SMIC on Tuesday said its board of directors had approved the property-for-share swap with Intercontinental Development Corp. (ICDC), a subsidiary that is engaged in subdivision property development.
Under the proposed deal, the 184-ha land owned by ICDC will be folded into SMIC. In exchange, ICDC will get SMIC shares.
SMIC said the deal would allow “optimal utilization and development of the properties” while aligning business strategies with its subsidiary.
The Sy family-led conglomerate did not disclose the number of shares and the equivalent amount that would be turned over to ICDC, in which SMIC has a 96.75-percent stake.
The country’s largest conglomerate also noted that the deal was still subject to approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission and confirmation of valuation.
SMIC booked record earnings of P40.2 billion in the first six months of the year, up by 10 percent, with the company poised for another banner year.
Its net income was buoyed mainly by property giant SM Prime Holdings Inc., whose earnings climbed by 13 percent to P22.1 billion.
SM Prime will get the bulk of the SM Group’s P115-billion planned capital spending this year at P100 billion to fund its expansion, particularly outside Metro Manila.
The developer plans to launch three more local malls this year spanning around 300,000 square meters, following the opening of another SM mall in Caloocan City in May.
SM Prime also aims to build 10,000 residential units in Northern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
Last month, SMIC and SM Prime raised $500 million from the offshore debt market, marking its largest bond issuance abroad in a decade as the companies geared up for aggressive expansion. INQ
