MREIT Inc., the real estate investment trust company of Megaworld Corp., is expanding its leasing portfolio with the acquisition of four office building properties worth P5.3 billion.
MREIT in a statement sent over the weekend said the four properties with a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 44,567 square meters (sqm) represents the initial tranche of the company’s P20-billion property-for-share acquisition plan this year.
It will purchase the properties from Megaworld’s Festive Walk 1B and Two Global Center in Iloilo Business Park, and One West Campus and Five West Campus in McKinley West, Taguig City.
“This will be the first time that we infuse office assets from McKinley West, one of our fastest growing townships in Metro Manila where some of the big names in the BPO industry are operating today. This township location also commands one of the highest rental rates in the Greater Manila Area because of the high demand for office spaces in this area,” said MREIT president and chief executive Kevin L. said.
In exchange for the properties to be acquired, MREIT will issue 263.7 million MREIT primary common shares to Megaworld.
MREIT will issue the shares at an offering price of P20 apiece, which represents a 1.4-percent premium over the volume weighted average closing price over a period of 40 trading days until March 30, 2022.
“Our objective is to accelerate our growth plans and double MREIT’s portfolio by the end of this year while ensuring that our acquisitions will be accretive to our shareholders. We aim to deliver an attractive total return to MREIT investors,” Tan said.
The four prime office properties have an average occupancy rate of 96 percent.
The acquisition will increase MREIT’s asset portfolio by 16 percent to 325,000 sqm of GLA with a total value of P65 billion from the current portfolio of 280,000 sqm.
MREIT in December also acquired four prime office properties in Iloilo Business Park and McKinley Hill.
MREIT is aiming to become one of the largest REITs in Southeast Asia. It plans to build up a leasing portfolio to 500,000 sqm and 1 million sq m by 2030.
