AREIT shareholders approve P11.26-B shares-for-asset swap (Sabong News)
Author
James A. Loyola
Date
APRIL 22 2022
AREIT, Inc., the Ayala Group’s Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), has secured the approval of its stockholders on its second property-for-share swap worth P11.26 billion with its sponsor, Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI).
Approved during AREIT’s Annual Stockholders’ Meeting on Thursday, Apr. 21, the transaction involves six Cebu-based office buildings in exchange for 252.14 million AREIT primary common shares at a price of P44.65 per share, as validated by a third-party fairness opinion.
This new asset infusion will expand AREIT’s gross leasing area to 673 thousand square meters or P64 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM) in 2022 – a 113 percent increase since AREIT went public.
This growth exceeds its target to double in size within two years from its IPO. With this prospective infusion of Cebu assets, AREIT’s dividend per share is projected to increase further.
AREIT’s full-year dividends from its 2021 income totaled P1.77 per share, a 34 percent increase from 2020 and 12 percent higher than its REIT plan projection during the IPO.
The six buildings are eBloc Towers 1 to 4 located at Cebu IT Park, ACC Tower and Tech Tower located at Ayala Center Cebu. The office buildings have a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 124,299 square meters with an overall occupancy rate of 97 percent, leased by major BPOs in the country.
AREIT started with 153,000 sq.m. equivalent to P30 billion of Assets Under Management (AUM) in 2020. By December 2021, this has grown to 549,000 sq.m., equivalent to P53 billion in AUM.
“We are focused on delivering our commitment to grow our assets, diversify our geographic and tenant base and create more shareholder value with increasing dividends and price appreciation,” said AREIT President and CEO Carol T. Mills.
She added that, “With this new asset infusion, we foresee AREIT’s dividend per share to increase, in addition to the recently concluded asset infusions last year.”
Last Feb. 24, 2022, AREIT’s Board of Directors approved the declaration of dividends of P0.47 per share for the fourth quarter of 2021, to be distributed on Mar. 25, 2022, to stockholders on record as of Mar. 11, 2022.
AREIT’s dividend per share increased from P0.44 in the third quarter to P0.47 in the fourth quarter after concluding its first asset-share swap of P15 billion last October 2021.
Its full-year dividends from its 2021 income totaled P1.77 per share, a 34 percent increase from 2020 and 12 percent higher than its REIT plan projection during the IPO. With this prospective infusion of Cebu assets, AREIT’s dividend per share is projected to increase further.
