GT Capital takes full ownership of Federal Land

MANILA, Philippines - GT Capital Holdings Inc., the investment vehicle of banking tycoon George S.K. Ty, now wholly owns property unit Federal Land Inc. following its acquisition of an additional 20 percent stake for P2.7 billion.

GT Capital is the primary vehicle for the management of the various interests of the Ty family in banking (Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co.), real estate (Federal Land), power generation (Global Business Power), automotive (Toyota Motor Philippines) and insurance (Phil AXA Life Insurance Corp.).

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, GT Capital said it inked a deed of absolute sale to acquire 20 million common shares of Federal Land.

At the same time, GT Capital exercised its option to acquire 25.52 million common shares or 4.6 percent of power holding firm Global Business Power Corp. at P35 each share.

GT Capital and its selling shareholders recently raised a total of $505 million from an initial public offering of shares.

The foreign tranche of the IPO was more than five times oversubscribed, drawing support from various prestigious long-term institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds.

In its prospectus, GT Capital said it would use proceeds from the share sale to fund the expansion of various units such as the hotel and residential projects of its real estate arm Federal Land and power businesses under Global Business Power.