AREIT Inc. (AREIT) said Wednesday it completed the acquisition of Seda Lio in El Nido, Palawan from its parent firm Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) for P1.19 billion in cash.
The company said in a stock exchange filing the acquisition, a part of its growth plans for 2024, would boost its leasing portfolio and strengthen its position as the leading real estate investment trust company in the country.
Seda Lio is a 153-room resort hotel that caters primarily to leisure tourists, families, social and corporate events, and other visitors.
AREIT said with the acquisition, it would earn a guaranteed building lease from hotel operator Econorth Resort Ventures over the next 25 years beginning January 2024.
“The acquisition of Seda Lio, alongside the planned asset infusions in 2024, will not only enlarge and expand AREIT’s footprint but also diversify its assets and reduce concentration risk,” said AREIT president and chief executive Carol Mills.
Aside from Seda Lio, AREIT is also set to acquire several prime offices, shopping malls and hotels from ALI worth P21.8 billion.
Among these properties are ALI’s flagship buildings in the Makati central business district—Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2, luxury mall Greenbelt wings 3 and 5 and Holiday Inn and Suites at Ayala Center, Makati. It will also acquire Seda Hotel at Ayala Center Cebu.
It will also purchase a 276-hectare industrial land in Zambales leased by Giga Ace 8 Inc. from Buendia Christiana Holdings Corp. (BCHC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACEN Corp.
Except for Seda Lio, these assets will be acquired through a property-for-share swap with ALI and its subsidiaries, Greenhaven Property Ventures Inc. and Cebu Insular Hotel Co. Inc.,
“Altogether, this will grow AREIT’s assets under management from P 87 to P117 billion, quadruple the company’s size when it first listed in August 2020,” Mills said.