Property developer Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) plans to raise P1.87 billion from the sale of shares in its real estate investment trust (REIT) arm to support expansion plans.
The Gokongwei-led real estate firm said in a stock exchange filing on Friday that its board of directors had approved the block sale of 318.9 million RL Commercial REIT Inc. (RCR) common shares, equivalent to a 2-percent stake, at P5.86 each.
This is a 5.5-percent discount from RCR’s closing price of P6.2 on Thursday.
A block sale is usually done outside market hours to avoid disrupting the company’s share price. This is likewise meant to help raise capital quickly.
“RLC will submit the required reinvestment plan detailing the use of proceeds obtained from the sale of the placement shares accordingly,” RLC said in its disclosure.
BPI Capital Corp. was tapped as the sole placement agent and bookrunner, while Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos was the transaction counsel.
Diversifying portfolio
This comes three months after RLC injected P33.9 billion worth of assets into RCR via a property-for-share deal involving 11 malls and two office buildings.
These assets span a total of 347,329 square meters (sq m). RCR’s gross leasable area expanded to 827,808 sq m.
In turn, RLC subscribed to 4.99 billion of RCR’s primary common shares at P6.80 each.
The deal was meant to diversify RCR’s predominantly office asset portfolio. The mall assets involved in the deal were Robinsons malls in Novaliches, Cainta, Luisita, Cabanatuan, Lipa, Sta. Rosa, Imus, Los Baños, Palawan and Ormoc.
Earlier this month, RLC announced that its hospitality arm, Robinsons Hotels and Resorts (RHR), had planned to spend at least P10 billion to expand and build upscale projects in Luzon and Cebu province.
Projects in the pipeline include the launch of luxury hotel NuStar in Cebu, five-star hotel brand Fili in Quezon City, and Grand Summit Hotels and Resorts properties in Cebu and Pangasinan.
RHR currently has 30 properties across 20 cities and municipalities in the country, including budget hotel chain Go Hotels and Holiday Inn Manila Galleria. —Meg J. Adonis