Century Properties buying out Japanese partner in housing unit

MANILA  -Century Properties Group (CPG) is set to fully control Phirst Park Homes Inc., its joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp., by acquiring the latter’s entire 40-percent stake in the business unit valued at P1.3 billion.

In a disclosure on Wednesday, the listed property developer explained that the acquisition was part of its “strategic move to consolidate interests in the business segment where the market is robust.”

The transaction involves 1.06 billion common shares with P1 par value and 265,000 preferred B shares with P1,000 par value, which represent 40-percent ownership in the JV company. CPG is the majority owner with 60-percent stake.

The acquisition, however, is still subject to approvals of regulators, including the Philippine Competition Commission.

“As Mitsubishi Corp. has already achieved its optimal goal for this particular investment, we believe that it is the ideal opportunity to pursue new seeds of growth in other emerging markets both in the Philippines and the Asian region,” Mitsubishi executive vice president and group CEO for urban development group Takuya Kuga said.

Phirst Park was incorporated in 2018 as CPG’s affordable housing brand. Its asset portfolio covers Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, Quezon, Pampanga, Bataan and Nueva Ecija.

Last year, the parent company announced its plan to expand in socialized and economic housing and mid-income residential markets through new subsidiary Century Phirst Corp.

“We remain cognizant of the strong fundamentals of the affordable housing market. The housing backlog continues to be a reality, which has caused us to fare well despite macro-economic headwinds,” CPG president and CEO Marco Antonio said.

“Century Properties is committed to meeting the housing needs of first-time homebuyers and will continue to explore opportunities to expand its portfolio,” he added.

In the first quarter, the listed company grew its profit by 21 percent to P302 million as revenues surged by 28 percent to P3.3 billion. Nearly half of the top-line figures were contributed by first-home development segments at P1.6 billion.

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