Pending CHI Merger CPVDC seeks trade suspension

CEBU, Philippines — Ayala-led Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp., the developer of the 27-hectare Cebu IT Park, is asking for a voluntary trading suspension at the Philippine Stock Exchange.

In a stock exchange disclosure yesterday, CPVDC said this is in anticipation of the Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of its merger with Cebu Holdings Inc., the surviving entity.

"Upon the issuance of the Certificate of Approval of the Merger by the SEC, CPVDC shall effectively be absorbed by CHI and there will no longer be any CPV and CPVB shares for trading," the company said in the disclosure.

CPVDC said it will soon disclose once it receives SEC's Certificate of Approval of the Merger.

CHI, also an Ayala-led firm behind the development of 50-hectare Cebu Business Park, is the surviving entity after the merger.

The merger will consolidate the firms' portfolio under one listed entity, "creating a unified portfolio for its investments and is expected to result in operational synergies, efficient funds management and simplified reporting to government agencies as a result of the merger."

CHI will exchange 1.06 common shares for every one share of CPVDC Class A common shares or Class B common shares, resulting to 996.77 million CHI shares at the end of the merger.

CHI will issue new shares as consideration of the merger. Its outstanding shares after merger will be 2.157 billion shares: outstanding common shares before the merger–1.920 billion shares; additional shares to be issued to CPVDC stockholders as a result of the merger–236.683 million shares, exclusive of 760.088 million common shares to be issued to itself in exchange of its shares held in CPVDC.

CHI's operations include commercial land; office and residential condominium sales; sale of residential lots; commercial lease of retail space; lease of office space; sale of proprietary sports club shares; and hotel development/operations via an affiliate Cebu Insular Hotel Co Inc.

Cebu IT Park is a well-planned IT economic zone and hosts a good mix of businesses such as software research and development, BPOs, and contact centers, all of which bring in millions of pesos in investments and employing thousands of people.

CPVDC’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Asian i-Office Properties Inc., operates the eBloc Towers, composed of four office buildings with gross leasable space of about 76,000 sq m.

CPVDC is also a shareholder in Central Block Developers Inc. and Cebu District Property Enterprise Inc.