The Philippine Competition Commission said Wednesday it approved three merger and acquisition transactions in real estate, housing, and manufacturing sectors.
PCC, in three separate decisions dated July 24, cleared the acquisition by Alveo Land Corp. of properties of Antel Land Holdings Inc. in Makati City; the joint venture between Century Properties Group Inc. and Mitsubishi Corp.; and the acquisition of additional shares in Toyota Autoparts Philippines Inc. by Aisin Seiki Co. Ltd.
Alveo earlier sought PCC’s approval to acquire Antel’s 1.3-hectare land and assets, including A.Venue Mall, in Makati City.
The commission said the transaction was not expected to result in substantial lessening of competition in the market for medium-cost residential condominiums in Makati and Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.
The review also found that there were a sufficient number of competitors in the market and that there was no ability nor incentive for Alveo to foreclose the property to be acquired.
PCC said that for the Century Property-Mitsubishi joint venture, the two companies agreed to engage in the development, construction and sale of residential properties on parcels of land in Tanza, Cavite.
The parties stand to invest through the purchase and subscription of shares in a new company, reported as PHirst Park Homes.
PCC said there were no concerns on competition in this transaction because of the numerous companies that are engaged in the residential real estate development within the identified geographic market.
It said that in the case of the Aisin Seiki-Toyota Parts transaction, Aisin Seiki planned to acquire additional shares of Toyota Autoparts Philippines from Toyota Motor Corp. in the Philippines. The move will switch Aisin Seiki from being a minority to a majority shareholder of TAP.
PCC said it found no substantial lessening of competition in the relevant car parts market as the conditions of production and sale of manual transmission components to TAP would be the same before and after the transaction.
PCC, the country’s anti-trust body, is mandated under the Philippine Competition Act to review mergers and acquisitions to ensure that these transactions will not effectively lessen or kill the competition in their relevant markets, or harm the interest of consumers.