LISTED MREIT, Inc. on Wednesday said it plans to diversify its asset portfolio beyond office assets by incorporating retail assets to support further growth.
“We are actually actively looking to diversify MREIT’s assets beyond the office sector. Starting this year, MREIT plans to inject also retail assets,” MREIT President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Andrew L. Tan said during the company’s virtual annual stockholders’ meeting.
“This strategic move provides shareholders with exposure to the strong performance of the retail sector and enhancing the company’s overall resilience and growth prospects,” he added.
MREIT is the real estate investment trust of listed property developer Megaworld Corp.
Mr. Tan said that MREIT is also studying other property types within Megaworld’s portfolio that “will bring value.”
“By broadening our investment horizon into new asset types, this will ensure MREIT will have a balanced and diversified portfolio that can withstand various market dynamics,” he said.
MREIT is set to increase its property portfolio by 48% to 482,000 square meters (sq.m.) after the planned acquisition of six office properties worth P13.15 billion.
Under the deal, MREIT will acquire Two West Campus, Ten West Campus, and One Le Grand Tower in McKinley West; One Fintech and Two Fintech in Iloilo Business Park; and Davao Finance Center in Davao Park District from Megaworld in exchange for 926,162,000 MREIT primary shares at P14.20 apiece.
The acquisition will add 157,000 sq.m. to MREIT’s office portfolio. MREIT is eyeing to have 500,000 sq.m. under its portfolio by yearend.
MREIT’s portfolio covers 18 office properties located in four Megaworld premier townships, namely 1800 Eastwood Avenue, 1880 Eastwood Avenue, and E-Commerce Plaza in Eastwood City; One World Square, Two World Square, Three World Square, 8/10 Upper McKinley, 18/20 Upper McKinley, and World Finance Plaza in McKinley Hill.
Other properties under MREIT include One Techno Place, Two Techno Place, Three Techno Place, One Global Center, Two Global Center, Festive Walk 1B, and Richmonde Tower in Iloilo Business Park; and One West Campus and Five West Campus in McKinley West.
On Wednesday, MREIT shares closed unchanged at P12.70 per share while Megaworld stocks fell by 0.56% or one centavo to P1.76 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
