GT Capital buys into mass housing developer Pro-Friends
TYCOON George Ty-led conglomerate GT Capital Holdings Inc. has stuck a deal to buy into affordable housing developer Property Company of Friends Inc. (PCFI), the key operating unit of the Pro-Friends Group that was planning to go public.
GT Capital announced on Friday a deal to buy an initial 22.68 percent of PCFI for P7.24 billion plus an option to increase its stake to 51 percent within the next three years.
“We view this acquisition as a mutually beneficial partnership for both parties. Pro-friends has the product expertise and the strategic land bank, while GT Capital has the financial resources and access to capital. Our partnership adds a new dimension to GT Capital’s property development portfolio and will enable our group to be one of the market leaders in the low-cost housing sector,” GT Capital chair Francisco Sebastian said in a press statement.
“This investment complements Federal Land’s property development projects and expands our group’s presence in the property market. The GT Capital group will now offer Federal Land’s upper- mid to high-end vertical projects and PCFI’s low-cost horizontal and mixed-use townships in key areas near Metro Manila. Our strategic tie-up will thus be a fusion of all property sub-segments,” Federal Land president Alfred Ty said.
Federal Land is the real estate arm of GT Capital, which is also into the following businesses: banking; automotive assembly, importation, dealership and financing; power generation and insurance.
“The low-cost housing segment is the real sweet spot in the country’s property sector, with a supply shortage of over three million homes, which continues to grow annually. Our partnership with GT Capital will strengthen our ability to be a leading player in serving this urgent market need. Moreover, the potential synergies of working with other component companies in the GT Capital group will enable us to offer our live, work, learn, play, and worship estates to many more middle income Filipino families,” said Profriends chair Guillermo Choa.
