Robinsons REIT starts IPO

MANILA, Philippines — The Gokongwei Group’s soon-to-list real estate investment trust RL Commercial REIT Inc. (RCR) commenced its initial public offering yesterday to run up to Sept.3.

In a briefing yesterday, Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) president Frederick Go said the portfolio of RCR consists of players in the resilient business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. RLC is the sponsor of RCR.

“The BPO industry is the bedrock of our office buildings business,” Go said.

He added that the BPO industry is an essential industry and it continues to operate even during these challenging times.

RCR is offering an initial portfolio of 14 commercial real estate assets with a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 425,315 square meters and an independently appraised value of P73.9 billion as of June 30, 2021.

Its buildings are located in major central business districts across Metro Manila, such as Makati, BGC, Ortigas, Quezon City and Mandaluyong.

RCR also has a presence in key cities and urban areas across the country, such as Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, Naga and Tarlac.

RCR has the widest geographical coverage, said its president and CEO Jericho Go.

As the country’s largest REIT, RCR’s market capitalization will be P64.2 billion or $1.3 billion at its IPO price of P6.45 per share.

Among existing and disclosed upcoming Philippine REITs, RCR is the largest in terms of market capitalization and portfolio valuation and biggest in asset size. It also has the widest geographical coverage and longest land lease tenure.

The deal is already oversubscribed, industry sources said.

Potential additions to RCR’s portfolio in the future or as soon as within 18 months are RLC’s Cyberscape Gamma in Ortigas and Robinsons Cybergate Center 1 in Mandaluyong.

On top of this, RLC has existing office BPO spaces located within its various commercial centers, as well as projects that are in various stages of construction.

Including the Cyberscape Gamma and the Robinsons Cybergate Center 1, RLC has approximately 204,000 sqm GLA in existing office assets, 68,000sqm GLA of BPO spaces located within RLC’s various commercial centers as well as 150,000 sqm GLA of properties that are in various stages of construction.

Overall, RLC’s potential pipeline for infusions to RCR amounts to a total GLA of around 422,000 sqm over time.