SEC clears Megaworld, Robinsons Land mammoth REIT IPO

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission greenlit massive initial public offerings of two real estate investment trust (REIT) companies.

In a statement on Wednesday, corporate regulators said they cleared the registration statements of Robinsons Land Corp. and Megaworld Corp. for the upcoming maiden share sale of their own REIT companies.

Robinsons-backed RL Commercial REIT would go public with shares worth P26.7 billion up for grabs, while Megaworld’s MREIT Inc. is preparing a P27.3-billion offer, in what would be the biggest REIT IPO in the country to date.

REITs grabbed investor attention following the successful offerings of landlords Ayala Land Inc. and DoubleDragon Properties Corp., which both braved pandemic-induced volatility to become the country’s first two REIT firms ever. Gotianun-led Filinvest Land Inc. capped its REIT firm’s maiden share sale yesterday.

Over a decade since the REIT law was enacted, REITs have proven to be a successful investment vehicle in the country — both for landlords and investors looking for steady dividend income. As a publicly-listed companies, REITs are mandated to use cash raised from the IPO to develop and expand its portfolio, enabling landlords to recycle capital. In turn, 90% of income from these real estate assets are required to be distributed to investors as dividends.

Under RL Commercial REIT’s plan, the company will offer up to 3.3 billion secondary common shares at P7.31 each, with an option to sell an additional 305.1 million common shares if orders from investors exceed the original size of the offer. The Robinsons-sponsored REIT firm will conduct the IPO from August 31 to September 8, and list on the Philippine Stock Exchange on September 20.

RL Commercial REIT’s property portfolio includes 14 commercial real estate assets with total gross leasable area (GLA) of 425,315 square meters, most of which are offices that may be converted to retail spaces “as required.”

On the other hand, MREIT is looking to sell 1.1 billion secondary shares at a higher price of P22 apiece, with an overallotment option of up to 161.7 million common shares in case of robust investor demand. Based on its latest timetable, the IPO will happen from August 23 to 27, while its stock market debut is set on September 6.

MREIT’s initial portfolio has a combined GLA of 224,430.8 sqm across 10 properties, with an aggregate appraised value of about P49.32 billion.

As of 12:33 p.m. Wednesday, Robinsons Land is trading flat while Megaworld is up 2.16%.