Ayala Land OK’s investment in Ortigas firm

MANILA, Philippines—The board of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) has approved a strategic partnership with a group led by Ignacio Ortigas for the purpose of allowing the property giant to invest in privately held OCLP Holdings, the parent company of urban property developer Ortigas & Co.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, ALI said its board had approved the strategic alliance with Ignacio Ortigas but no details were provided.

ALI’s board earlier allowed the company to negotiate and enter into a deal with Ignacio Ortigas to gain entry into OCLP Holdings. An initial budget of P15 billion had been earmarked for this purpose.

It is unclear, however, how much potential control in OCLP this partnership with Ignacio Ortigas brings as another group within the family is allied with rival SM group. But ALI earlier expressed confidence that it would get the critical mass in OCLP.

In the case of ALI, it is interested in OCLP’s vast urban landbank particularly the Capitol Commons mixed-use project in Pasig, as well as the Ortigas family’s crown jewel, the Greenhills commercial complex.

The Ortigas holding firm has a landbank of 50 hectares spanning Quezon City, Pasig, San Juan and Mandaluyong. Another 40 hectares of prime land can be added to its land bank, which include portions of Camp Crame (10 hectares) and Camp Aguinaldo (30 hectares), which were donated to the government years ago but which it has the right to buy back from the government.

Tycoon Henry Sy’s SM Investments negotiated to buy the stake held by British banking giant HSBC and some family members ahead of ALI but family members afterwards exercised their right of first refusal on HSBC’s 34 percent stake. Control of the Ortigases’ holding firm was thus consolidated within the family which, however, was split between two factions – one led by the group of Ignacio Ortigas, which is allied with ALI, and the group of Francis “Paqui” Ortigas III, which is allied with SM.