TY family-led conglomerate GT Capital Holdings Inc. has acquired a majority stake in mass housing developer Property Company of Friends Inc. (Pro-Friends) with the purchase of an additional 28.3 percent for P8.76 billion.
In line with the staggered buy-in deal forged last year, this additional subscription boosts GT Capital’s economic stake in Pro-Friends to 51 percent, the conglomerate disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday.
The financial statements of Pro-Friends will be consolidated into GT Capital up to the extent of its 51 percent stake from July 2016, as opposed to the financial statements of the same company having been consolidated up to the extent of its initial 22.7 percent stake as of August 2015.
“Our increased investment into Pro-Friends is in line with our intention to expand GT Capital’s property product offerings, ranging from Federal Land’s upper-mid end developments to Pro-Friends’ affordable residential and mixed-use communities. In addition, we can further enhance synergies between our property projects and our other component companies,” GT Capital co-vice chair and Pro-Friends chair Alfred Ty said.
“Underpinned by the continued growth of the Philippine economy, demand in the affordable property sector continues to outstrip supply. Our partnership with GT Capital will further allow us to deliver quality yet affordable homes that serve our customers and take advantage of synergies within the group. Our Lancaster New City, which is strategically located near key infrastructure projects, enables us to offer our live, work, learn, play, and worship estates to many more Filipino families,” Pro-Friends president Guillermo Choa explained.
GT Capital had been given three years to increase its stake in the housing firm but completed the majority takeover in only a year’s time.
Profriends, which sells residential units priced at between P800,000 and P3 million per unit, sees sustained demand from first-time home-buyers such as young upwardly mobile professionals, people currently renting space in inner city, provincial-based buyers and overseas Filipino workers. It was initially planning a stock market debut but instead decided to sell a majority stake to the Ty-led conglomerate.
The flagship and largest project of Pro-Friends is Lancaster New City (LNC), which is in Cavite province, spanning the cities of Gen. Trias, Kawit, and Imus. LNC is home to over 20,000 residents, benefitting from the master-planned, mixed-use development approach of Pro-Friends. It is seen highly accessible from Metro Manila via major roads and transport systems such as the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) and the upcoming LRT-1 extension.
The LNC township also houses several business process outsourcing (BPO) firms and retail outlets. Cavite province belongs to the progressive CALABARZON region – home to beneficiaries of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances and BPO employees from Metro Manila.