SMC sold 11.2% stake in Rockwell to Lopezes for P1.37B

MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel Corp. has signed a deal to sell an 11.2-percent stake in Rockwell Land Corp. to the Lopez family for P1.37 billion, allowing the latter to further consolidate their controlling ownership in the newly listed upscale property developer.

The deal allows the Lopezes to hike interest in Rockwell to about 87.2 percent from 76 percent, thus cementing control of Rockwell at a lower cost relative to market prices.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, Lopez-led First Philippine Holdings Corp. disclosed the signing of an agreement with SMC for the purchase of the latter’s 681.65 million shares in Rockwell at P2.01 per share.

Rockwell, which listed by way of introduction or without initial public offering last May, has 6.1 billion in outstanding shares.

The selling price per share of SMC was set at the same price at which the group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan recently sold 25 percent stake in Rockwell.

“The transaction serves to further consolidate FPH’s ownership in Rockwell Land Corp., its flagship for residential and commercial real property development,” the FPH disclosure said.

The shares will be crossed on the local bourse after approval by the Philippine Stock Exchange of the special block sale, the disclosure said.

SMC, for its part, has its own property development company San Miguel Properties Inc.  Its ownership in Rockwell came as a result of its interest in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

When Meralco declared as property dividend its 51 percent stake in Rockwell, shareholders of Meralco – including Pangilinan’s group and SMC – received such shares in the property company.

As a result of the property dividend to shareholders of Meralco which used to own 51 percent of the company, Rockwell now has 48,629 shareholders and a public ownership of 14.9 percent.  Thus, it is no longer required to undertake a new share offering to the public.

Rockwell started operations in 1995 by redeveloping an old thermal power plant into an upscale mixed use community now known as Rockwell Center in Makati, which now has seven high-rise residential towers, a shopping mall, a leisure club, a graduate school and two office buildings (Nestle and Phinma).

The property company also has an office complex in Ortigas and a new mixed -use community called “The Grove” in Ortigas. Most of Rockwell’s business come from condominium development while recurring income including rental of shopping mall space at the Power Plant Mall and other office developments accounts for 40 percent.