GT Capital finalizes Pro-Friends entry

TYCOON George Ty-led conglomerate GT Capital Holdings Inc. has finalized the deal to buy an initial 22.68 percent stake in mass housing developer Property Company of Friends Inc. (PCFI), a prelude to its takeover of majority control of this residential developer.

PCFI is the flagship unit of the Pro-Friends Group that was earlier planning to launch an initial public offering at the local stock exchange.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, GTCAP said it had fulfilled all closing conditions and thus sealed its acquisition of 22.68 percent interest in PCFI for P7.24 billion or P398.1 per share.

GT Capital has the option to increase its direct shareholding in PCFI to 51 percent within the next three years.

“The parties have agreed to cede majority control of PCFI to GT Capital,” the disclosure said.

Established in 1999, PCFI is one of the country’s leading property developers, focusing on the low-cost and economic housing segments and retail and office space leasing. It has built and sold over 36,000 affordable homes in the provinces of Cavite and Iloilo. Its flagship and largest project is Lancaster New City, which spans the areas of Kawit, Imus, and General Trias in Cavite Province.

Aside from Lancaster New City, ongoing PCFI projects include the Bellefort Estates in Bacoor and Dasmarinas in Cavite, the Parc Regency Residences in Iloilo Province, and the Carmona Estates in Carmona, Cavite, among others.