Robinsons Land eyes REIT arm assets boost

Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) is set to infuse 13 new commercial assets into its real estate investment trust (REIT) vehicle, RL Commercial REIT Inc. (RCR), this year.

In a stock exchange disclosure on Thursday, RCR said its Board of Directors had approved the planned assets infusion under a P33.91-billion property-for-share swap deal with its sponsor, RLC.

RCR said the move would effectively increase its total gross leasable space (GLA) by an additional 347,329 square meters (sqm) to 827,808 sqm., which helps the company keep its position as the country’s REIT firm with the widest geographical reach having a presence in 18 key locations.

“We are pleased to announce RCR’s plans to conduct a property-for-share swap for prime malls and offices. Our fund manager, RL Fund Management, Inc., has identified the assets that will maximize the additional value delivered to our shareholders,” RCR President and CEO Jericho P. Go said.

“The planned asset infusion will diversify our predominantly office asset portfolio with the inclusion of mall assets. This aligns with RCR’s commitment to shareholders to continuously grow the company,” he added.

The property-for-share swap is comprised of 11 malls totaling 278,526 sqm. of leasable space, including Robinsons Novaliches, Robinsons Cainta, Robinsons Luisita, Robinsons Cabanatuan, Robinsons Lipa, Robinsons Sta. Rosa, Robinsons Imus, Robinsons Los Baños, Robinsons Palawan, Robinsons Ormoc and Cybergate Davao.

It also covers two office assets totaling 68,803 sqm. of leasable space: Giga Tower in the Bridgetowne Destination Estate, Quezon City, and Cybergate Delta 2 in Davao City.

The assets have been selected based on RCR’s investment criteria of maximizing dividend yield accretion through the infusion of high-quality commercial properties that complement the company’s existing portfolio of 16 premium assets.

As part of the property-for-share swap deal, RLC will subscribe to 4.98 billion primary common shares of RCR at P6.80 per share, equivalent to a total valuation of P33.91 billion, as supported by a third-party fairness opinion.

Likewise, RCR said the deal, planned to be completed within the year, still needs to follow the requirements of regulatory bodies. It will also be presented for approval in the special stockholders’ meeting of RCR scheduled on 15 July.

After the infusion, RLC’s current investment portfolio includes approximately 1.4 million sqm. of leasable mall spaces, approximately 253 thousand sqm. of remaining leasable office spaces, 26 hotels with a total of 4,243 room keys, and 244 thousand sqm of leasable logistics facilities.

RCR reported a net income of P1.12 billion during the first quarter after revenues hit P1.43 billion.