SM, ALI end squabble over Ortigas

MANILA, Philippines — The SM and Ayala Land groups have ended their squabble over the holding firm of the Ortigas family’s OCLP Holdings, making a pact to amicably share the boardroom and work together to develop a rich landbank in the Ortigas area.

In separate but similar disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, SM Prime Holdings Inc. and Ayala Land Inc. announced that they had signed an agreement with their respective allies within the Ortigas family to terminate all cases relating to the ownership and management of OCLP Holdings, which owns Ortigas and Co. Ltd. Partnership.
SM has long been allied with the Fernando Ortigas group (FOG), and the Ayalas, with the Rafael Ortigas group (ROG) within OCLP.
“SMPH and ALI will enter into partnership with FOG and ROG. This strategic alliance will further enhance the properties in the Ortigas area, and create maximum value for their various stakeholders,” the disclosures said.
It was reported that the Fernando Ortigas group had accepted an offer from the SM group to acquire his group’s stake in OCLP Holdings equivalent to at least 40 percent. A 30-day notice was sent to the group allied with the Ayalas led by Rafael Ortigas to match this offer.

The statement did not mention what happened to the right of first refusal, only implying that the SM group had indeed gained formal entry into OCLP.

The two property giants are drawn to OCLP given the Ortigases’ rich landbank in the metropolis amid a property boom in the last few years.

OCLP’s crown jewel is the 16-hectare Greenhills shopping complex in San Juan. Other projects include the mixed-use Capitol Commons and the Tiendesitas commercial hub in Pasig.

Its current landbank is estimated at around 50 hectares, based on estimates by external property experts. OCLP, however, can add another 40 hectares of prime land to its landbank, including portions of Camp Crame (10 hectares) and Camp Aguinaldo (30 hectares), which were donated to the government years ago but OCLP has preemptive rights to buy it back in the future if the government no longer needs it for the purpose for which the land was donated in the first place.