Robinsons Land joining Philippines' REIT party with P26.7-B IPO plan

MANILA, Philippines — Real estate giant Robinsons Land Corp. is now preparing for the stock market debut of its own real estate investment trust (REIT) company.

Robinsons-backed RL Commercial REIT Inc. is seeking regulators’ approval for its P26.7-billion initial public offering, filing documents released by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday showed.

For the first time, RL Commercial will sell 3.3 billion common shares at a price of up to P7.31 each. The total amount to be raised includes an overallotment option of 305 million shares, which the company will use if there’s great demand from investors for the offer.

Trading of the new REIT firm's shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange is targeted to begin on September 15. Excluding other fees and expenses, net proceeds from the upcoming IPO is pegged at approximately P25.94 billion, which will be used by Robinsons Land to fund its “reinvestment plans”.

“Our company will not receive any proceeds from the offer,” RL Commercial said.

RL Commercial’s portfolio consists of 14 real estate assets across the Philippines with combined gross leasable area of 425,315 sqm, mainly commercial spaces primarily leased for office purposes and, if necessary, retail purposes as well. These assets, in turn, generate revenues, 90% of which should be declared as dividends to REIT investors.

The company is the third of its kind in the Philippines, preceded by DoubleDragon Properties Corp.’s DDMP REIT Inc. and Ayala Land’s AREIT Inc. Last March, Gotianun-led Filinvest Land Inc. announced its own REIT plans and has a pending IPO application with the SEC.

As it is, REIT is proving to be a successful investment vehicle in the country since an enabling law was enacted in 2009. The upcoming offerings are also shaping the Philippines into one of the region’s major IPO markets this year.