ONE West Campus in McKinley West, Taguig — MEGAWIDE.COM.PH

MREIT, Inc. the real estate investment trust (REIT) arm of Megaworld Corp., is set to acquire four office towers with a total value of P5.3 billion through a property-for-share swap; the company announced on Monday.

In a media release, MREIT said it had secured approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to acquire four properties, which are Philippine Economic Zone Authority-accredited.

These properties will be exchanged for 263.70 million MREIT primary common shares priced at P20 per share or a premium of 41% over the company’s price of P14.20 per share on March 24, 2023.

MREIT shares on Monday closed higher by P0.46 or 3.24% to close at  P14.66 each.

“The SEC approval of our property-for-share acquisition results in the recognition of income from the new assets by MREIT from January 1, 2023, which will help drive our growth.,” said MREIT President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Andrew L. Tan.

The properties are One West Campus and Five West Campus in McKinley West, Taguig; and Festive Walk 1B and Two Global Center in Iloilo Business Park. They have a gross leasable area (GLA) of 44,567 square meters (sq.m.).

“The new office assets from McKinley West now command one of the highest rental rates in the Greater Manila Area, supported by the high demand for office space in this area,” Mr. Tan said.

The acquisition will increase the company’s asset portfolio by 16% to 325,000 sq.m. from the 280,000 sq.m. it currently possesses. It will also increase the number of office properties under the company to 18 inside four Megaworld townships.

The acquisition is part of the company’s plan to expand its GLA to 500,000 sq.m. by the end of 2024, which it announced earlier in the year.

“This will help us achieve our goal of delivering at least 10% annual total shareholder return as we are now looking forward to the next phase of MREIT’s growth.” Mr. Tan said. — Adrian H. Halili

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