MEGAWORLD Corp. has raised P5.6 billion through multiple block sales of MREIT Inc. shares to fund the next phase of township developments ahead of a fresh asset infusion.
In a statement on Monday, the property developer said proceeds from the share sales, conducted between April and July, would be reinvested in recurring income-generating projects across its integrated townships.
The planned Wave 5 infusion, meanwhile, is expected to add about 303,500 square meters of gross leasable area (GLA) to MREIT, expanding its portfolio to more than 950,000 square meters and bringing it closer to its one million-square meter target.
The additional assets will also diversify MREIT’s portfolio, reducing the share of office properties to around 77 percent from more than 95 percent, while increasing its exposure to malls to about 20 percent and hotels to three percent.
Megaworld President and CEO Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso said the transaction would allow the company to recycle capital from mature assets into new developments.
“The capital raised through MREIT allows us to reinvest in the next generation of offices, malls, hotels and other township components, supporting the continued expansion of our recurring income portfolio,” she said.
Megaworld said the proceeds would finance projects in several growth areas, including Paragua Coastown in Palawan, The Upper East in Bacolod, Capital Town in Pampanga, The Mactan Newtown in Cebu, as well as developments in Iloilo, Cavite and ArcoVia City in Pasig.
MREIT Chairman Kevin Tan said the fifth asset infusion would broaden the real estate investment trust’s sources of recurring income by adding more retail and hospitality assets to its predominantly office portfolio.
Megaworld said it was on track to expand its leasing portfolio to a combined three million square meters by 2030, of which two million square meters would be office space and one million square meters would be retail space.
Megaworld shares rose P0.02, or 0.95 percent, to P2.12 each on Monday while those of MREIT went down by P0.02, or 0.14 percent, to P13.88 apiece amid a 0.33-percent drop for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.