MREIT to Inject P27 Billion in Assets, Expanding Portfolio

MREIT Inc., the real estate investment trust (REIT) of Megaworld Corp., on Monday announced a P27-billion property infusion consisting of mall, hotel, and office assets, marking the largest asset injection to date among publicly listed REITs. The transaction, carried out through a property-for-share swap, marks MREIT's fifth wave of asset infusions. It adds 303,900 square meters of gross leasable area (GLA), bringing the company's total GLA to 950,000 square meters and increasing its assets under management to P122 billion. The transaction will diversify MREIT's portfolio, shifting its asset mix from 95% office assets to approximately 77% office, 20% retail, and 3% hotel. The assets include 160,200 square meters of GLA from five lifestyle malls: Festive Walk Mall at Iloilo Business Park in Iloilo City, Lucky Chinatown Mall in Binondo, Manila, Venice Grand Canal Mall in McKinley Hill, Taguig, Eastwood Mall in Quezon City, and Southwoods Mall in Biñan, Laguna. Also included are the 737-room Holiday Inn Express Manila Newport City and 117,200 square meters of office assets: Science Hub Tower 2 and Venice Corporate Center in McKinley Hill, Six West Campus in McKinley West, Taguig City, One Paseo in ArcoVia City, Pasig, Global One in Eastwood City, and Horizon Center in Newport City. “As we scale, we remain focused on driving cost efficiencies across the portfolio. This provides a clear path to margin improvement and, in turn, dividend-per-share accretion for shareholders,” MREIT President Jose Arnulfo Batac said in an emailed statement. “MREIT's next phase of growth is about building a larger, more diversified platform that drives long-term value for shareholders,” he added. —VBL, GMA News