RLC REIT plans P26.67-B IPO

Published May 27, 2021, 4:14 PM

by James A. Loyola

Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC), the property development arm of the Gokongwei group, is planning a P26.67 billion initial public offering for its real estate investment trust (REIT) RL Commercial REIT Inc.

RLC REIT has just filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement for the public offering of up to 3.34 billion common shares at an offer price of up to P7.31 each.

The firm is also setting aside an over allotment option of up to 305.1 million common shares.

All the shares to be sold, including those for the over allotment option, comprising about 36 percent of the company, are owned by the RLC as the selling shareholder.

RLC REIT leases to a diversified tenant base a high-quality portfolio of 14 commercial real estate assets across the Philippines with an aggregate portfolio gross leasable area of 425,315 square meters as of the date of this REIT Plan.

“Our Portfolio consists of commercial spaces primarily leased for office purposes, which may also be used and leased for retail purposes as required,” the firm said in its draft prospectus.

The principal investment mandate of RLC REIT is to focus on investing on a long-term basis in a diversified portfolio of income-producing commercial real estate assets, leased primarily for office purposes, and strategically located in major central business districts (CBDs) and key cities and urban areas across the Philippines.

“We intend to maintain a high occupancy rate by targeting a diversified tenant base, with an emphasis on tenants primarily engaged in providing essential services, such as information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) services, including business process outsourcing (BPO) services, to secure stable occupancy and income from operations,” RLC REIT said.

In preparation for the Offering, RLC transferred its ownership over 12 Properties in exchange for RLC REIT shares. In addition, RLC will lease two buildings, Robinsons Cybergate Center 2 and Robinsons Cybergate Center 3, and certain parcels of land where the Assigned Properties are situated.

RLC REIT’s initial Portfolio of 14 Properties has an appraised value of P73.34 billion as of September 30, 2020 located in CBDs across Metro Manila and in the key cities of Naga, Tarlac, Cebu and Davao outside of Metro Manila.

For the IPO, the company has engaged UBS AG, Singapore Branch as the lead international bookrunner for the offer, with CLSA limited and Merrill Lynch (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. also serving as international bookrunners.

BPI Capital Corporation was tapped as the lead local underwriter, with China Bank Capital Corporation, First Metro Investment Corporation, and PNB Capital and Investment Corporation as local underwriters.

Source: https://mb.com.ph/2021/05/27/r...