GT Capital seals buy-in deal with Pro-Friends unit

Tycoon George Ty-led conglomerate GT Capital Holdings Inc. has finalized a 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 the majority control of the company.

PCFI is the flagship unit of Pro-Friends Group.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, GTCAP said it had fulfilled all closing conditions and sealed the acquisition of 22.68 percent of PCFI for P7.24 billion at P398.1 a share. GT Capital has the option to increase its stake in PCFI to 51 percent within the next three years.

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

In view of this development, Pro Friends has put on hold its P7.7-billion initial public offering plan.

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 more than 36,000 affordable homes in Cavite and Iloilo.

The buy-in deal valued 100 percent of PCFI at P32 billion or about 8.9 times this company’s net income of P3.61 billion last year.

Profriends, which sells residential units priced at between P800,000 and P3 million per unit, sees sustained demand from first-time home-buyers.