AREIT completes SEDA Lio acquisition

AREIT Inc., the real estate investment trust of property giant Ayala Land Inc., has completed the acquisition of Seda Lio in El Nido, Palawan, from ALI’s subsidiary Econorth Resort Ventures Inc. for P1.19 billion.

In a disclosure, AREIT said Seda Lio is a 153-room resort hotel that caters primarily to leisure tourists, families, social and corporate events, and other visitors.

With the acquisition, AREIT will earn a guaranteed building lease from the hotel operator, Econorth Resort Ventures, over the next 25 years beginning January 2024.

“The acquisition of Seda Lio, alongside the planned asset infusions in 2024, will not only enlarge and expand AREIT’s footprint but also diversify its assets and reduce concentration risk,” said AREIT President and CEO Carol T. Mills.

^{AREIT President and CEO Carol T. Mills.}

She added that, “altogether, this will grow AREIT’s Assets under Management from P87 billion to P117 billion, quadruple the company’s size when it first listed in August 2020.”

This transaction is part of AREIT’s 2024 growth plans, which includes infusions from its sponsor ALI of its flagship buildings in the Makati CBD, namely: Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2 – ALI’s most premium headquarter-office located at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue; luxury mall Greenbelt wings 3 and 5; Holiday Inn and Suites at Ayala Center, Makati; and Seda Hotel at Ayala Center Cebu. These are all worth P21.8 billion.

Complementing the ALI infusions is the acquisition of a 276-hectare industrial land in Zambales leased by Giga Ace 8 Inc. from Buendia Christiana Holdings Corp. (BCHC), wholly-owned subsidiaries of ACEN.

Except for Seda Lio, the other assets will be acquired through a property-for-share swap with ALI and its subsidiaries, Greenhaven Property Ventures Inc. and Cebu Insular Hotel Co. Inc., subscribing to 642.15 million and BCHC to 199.11 million AREIT primary common shares at an exchange price of P34 per share, as validated by a third-party fairness opinion.

The infusion will be for the approval of AREIT shareholders at their Special Stockholders Meeting on Feb. 12, 2024 and pertinent regulatory bodies thereafter.

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The article was originally published in Manila Bulletin and written by James A. Loyola.