Sta. Lucia Land gets 12.9% stake in PRCI

MANILA, Philippines—Property developer Sta. Lucia Land Inc. has acquired from its parent firm a 12.09-percent stake in Philippine Racing Club Inc. (PRCI) to boost its asset base.

SLI disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that its controlling stockholder, Sta. Lucia Realty & Development (SLRDI), had signed a deal to convey all of its 70.83 million shares in PRCI, a horse racing operator with some real-estate interests.

Under the deal, the shares will be turned over to SLI at P4.20 per share or a block price of P297.5 million.

The transfer of SLRDI’s interest in PRCI will also settle part of the former’s P1-billion obligation to SLI as of end-September 2010.

SLI is beefing up its asset base ahead of a plan to sell $100 million to $150 million worth of shares through a follow-on equity offering slated for the end of this year or early next year.

The property company was created in 2007 through the backdoor listing of selected property assets owned by its predecessor and parent firm SLRDI via Zipporah Realty Holdings.

Part of the strategy to maximize values within the Sta. Lucia group is for SLI to “cherry-pick” from among its parent firm’s other lucrative assets. Parent Sta. Lucia Realty has 14 golf courses in its portfolio.

Getting a minority stake in PRCI is an attractive proposition for SLI, as the former will unlock values from its 21-hectare former racetrack in Makati via a property development venture with the Ayala group.—Doris C. Dumlao