PLDT in talks to buy Alphaland Tower

Manuel V. Pangilinan. INQUIRER file photo

Local telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is in talks to acquire the newest prime office property at the Makati central business district—the 34-storey Alphaland Tower put up by the property development arm of businessman Roberto V. Ongpin.

Inquirer sources said PLDT, which is led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, was now in the thick of discussions with the Ongpin-led Alphaland Corp. for a potential purchase of the multibillion-peso office property.

In reply to a query from the Inquirer, Alphaland president Mario Oreta said: “I confirm that I am in talks with several parties, including PLDT, but I have not signed any deed of sale.”

Oreta said there were other companies in discussions with Alphaland to buy the building.

Alphaland Tower is the newest among the six Grade-A towers at the heart of the Makati CBD and was built at an estimated cost of at least P3 billion. The newly completed building has 48,000 square meters of office space.

PLDT is interested to take over the building, mostly for its own use, industry sources said. PLDT’s existing head office at the Ramon Cojuangco building is no longer sufficient for the telecom firm’s growing office space requirements, especially after its consolidation with Digitel Telecommunications Philippines Inc.

Globe Telecom, PLDT’s key competitor, has built for itself a new corporate building in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City for its headquarters.

“If it’s a good deal, I think they should. Definitely, PLDT has the funds to do it. Instead of renting office space for other business units, there’s a rent-versus-buy calculation that could argue for such acquisition,” said Joseph Roxas, president of local stockbrokerage Eagle Equities Inc.

Apart from PLDT, Pangilinan’s group has interests in other businesses like infrastructure (Metro Pacific Investments), mining and oil exploration (Philex Mining and Philex Petroleum) and power (Manila Electric Co.). Through PLDT Beneficial Trust unit Mediaquest Holdings, the group also has interests in media, primarily Associated Broadcasting Corp. (TV-5).

As early as last year, Alphaland officials have indicated that while the tower on Ayala Ave. was built for the company to generate recurring rental earnings from, it was an option to sell the building in its entirety “at the right price.”

Designed by Hong Kong-based architectural and engineering firm Wong & Ouyang, Alphaland Tower features state-of-the-art conference centers, meeting rooms, dining facilities and security systems. The street entrance leads to a grand lobby, with a 10-meter high ceiling. The lobby is entirely clad in glass to bring in natural light.

The ground and second levels of Alphaland Tower are intended as prime commercial space while the building has a three-storey penthouse with its own rooftop gardens and lounge areas. Each level has a floor template of between 1,100 and 1,600 square meters. Its five-level basement can accommodate 480 cars.

The Alphaland Tower features environmentally sustainable technologies and has earned a pre-certified GOLD rating (core and shell) with the US Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system. The building’s design and features optimize energy performance and improve indoor air quality while the use of efficient plumbing design and fixtures can lead to a significant decline in water consumption.