Ayala Land’s acquisition plans gain ground

PROPERTY DEVELOPER Ayala Land, Inc. expects to firm up after four months plans to acquire assets in Cavite of Panlilio-owned Boulevard Holdings, Inc. which could be developed as a leisure project, a top company official told reporters on Saturday last week.

“We just came around an agreement to talk and come up with the land values. There are studies we have to do prior to the actual due diligence work, and the due diligence would take about maybe 120 days or so -- four months to be able to complete the detailed due diligence,” Antonino T. Aquino, Ayala Land president and chief executive officer, told reporters at Globe Circuit Event Grounds in Makati City on Saturday.

Boulevard Holdings officials were not immediately available for comment.
Last April 26, Ayala Land inked an agreement, subject to further discussion, to acquire “certain landholding assets” of Boulevard Holdings, with Ayala Land’s upscale brand Ayala Land Premier expressing “preliminary interest” in some of Boulevard Holdings’ properties.

Asked which Boulevard Holdings’ assets were in Ayala Land’s sights, Mr. Aquino said: “That’s also part of what has to be determined, but it’s in Ternate, Cavite… it’s a very large area.”

Boulevard Holdings is a holding company established in 1994, with primary interests in hotel, resort, and tourism-related developments.

Since 2011, Boulevard Holdings has been scouting for foreign and local partners to develop the firm’s 3,000-hectare Puerto Azul resort in Ternate.

“We have always talking about leisure-type communities, exactly similar to what we have in Anvaya (Cove), and something like what we will be doing in the El Nido Resort area,” Mr. Aquino said when asked to elaborate on possible plans on Boulevard Holdings’ assets.

“So, the concept is really to be able to come around with those type of leisure-oriented communities.”

In Bataan, Ayala Land has developed in partnership with Subic Bay Development and Industrial Estate Corp. Anvaya Cove, a 320-hectare leisure complex.

In El Nido, Palawan, Ayala Land has developed and currently operates an island resort complex consisting of the Lagen, Milinoc, Apulit and Pangulasian Island resorts.

MORE ALLIANCES
Mr. Aquino added that Ayala Land will pursue new business and leisure developments in Cebu in partnership with Aboitiz Land, Inc., the real estate arm of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., and Taft Property Venture Development Corp., a unit of Gaisano-led Vicsal Development Corp.

“We will jointly acquire something together and then, on that basis, put up again an integrated mixed-use development which… in Cebu, will effectively be the third major business district-oriented development there -- a city district-type development following Cebu IT Park and Cebu Business Park,” Mr. Aquino said of his company’s initial 50%-50% partnership with AboitizLand forged last April 24.

Cebu IT Park (formerly Asiatown IT Park) is a 24-hectare economic zone in Cebu City, while Cebu Business Park is a 50-hectare master-planned development, also in Cebu City. Both projects are owned and operated by Ayala Land affiliate Cebu Holdings, Inc.

“For Vicsal, it will be something that is in the Mactan (Island) area, which tells you that it would be more of a leisure-type development. I think that tells you again we like the tourism side. We know that with the success we’ve had in Anvaya, so it’s going to be a replication and this is exactly the same model we will be doing there,” Mr. Aquino said of Ayala Land’s team-up with the Gaisanos that was forged last April 26.

Ayala Land was organized in 1988 when parent Ayala Corp. decided to spin off its real estate division into an independent subsidiary to enhance management focus on real estate.

Shares of Ayala Land fell by 15 centavos or 0.46% to P32.40 apiece yesterday from P32.55 on Friday last week, while those of Boulevard Holdings gained 1.4 centavos or 8.04% to 18.8 centavos from 17.4 centavos each.

source:  Businessworld