RLC boosting REIT after P10.6 billion asset infusion

MANILA, Philippines — Gokongwei-led real estate developer Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) is prepared to proceed with the next batch of asset infusions into its real estate investment trust company, RL Commercial REIT Inc. (RCR), following a P10.62-billion deal announced last month.

RCR president and CEO Jericho Go told The STAR the company is ready to proceed with the potential infusion of its sixth asset.

“The assets are ready, but it depends on the market conditions,” Go said.

“When you say market conditions, you don’t know what’s going to happen globally. Is there going to be another Hormuz episode? Is there going to be a change in interest rate policy in the US that will impact Asia and the Philippines? So all of that has to be taken into consideration,” he added.

Go said RCR’s potential sixth asset infusion is likely to consist of more mall assets.

He said RLC’s logistics assets are still quite young, while hotel assets must first establish occupancy stability.

“So we’re looking at malls because we still have a good runway for malls that we have not yet infused into the REIT. I think that is a very good potential to infuse. Then we still have more offices that are in the pipeline, but malls will be the most likely candidate,” he said.

RCR earlier said it is planning up to two tranches of property injections this year.

“We said two possible tranches. We already fulfilled the first. The second we are ready, but we need to be watchful about what’s going to happen,” Go said.

“We have a process. Our fund manager makes the recommendation, and it must be approved by both boards: RLC, the sponsor, and RCR, the recipient of the assets. Then there is this fairness opinion. We need to protect the interests of the public by making sure that there is a fair market sentiment and it is above board,” he said.

Last month, RCR announced a proposed fifth asset infusion through a P10.62-billion property-for-share swap transaction with its sponsor, RLC.

The transaction involves six mall assets totaling 160,269 square meters of gross leasable area (GLA). The mall assets to be infused are Robinsons Dumaguete, Robinsons Tagaytay, Robinsons Iligan, Robinsons Galleria South, Robinson La Union and Robinsons Naga.

Under the transaction, RLC will subscribe to 1.29 billion common shares of RCR at P8.25 per share, for a total valuation of P10.62 billion, as supported by an accredited appraiser and a third-party fairness opinion.

RCR’s portfolio expanded to 38 assets by end-2025, following the infusion of nine mall assets from RLC through a tax-free property-for-share swap.

The infusion brought RCR’s GLA to 1.15 million square meters, 2.7 times its size at the time of listing.

Before the proposed fifth asset infusion, RCR’s portfolio consisted of 21 mall assets and 17 office assets across 25 key locations nationwide.

Malls account for 53 percent of total GLA, while offices account for 47 percent. The company maintained 96 percent blended occupancy and a weighted average lease expiry of 4.02 years.

Backed by RLC, RCR said it remains focused on disciplined portfolio growth, efficiency-driven operations and sustainable returns for shareholders.