SMIC board greenlights property-for-share swap

SY-LED conglomerate SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) is poised to expand its real estate portfolio following board approval of a property-for-share swap with one of its subsidiaries.

On Aug. 7, the conglomerate’s board approved a transaction involving 184 hectares of land owned by Intercontinental Development Corp. (ICDC) in Susana Heights, Muntinlupa City, SMIC said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Under the deal, the ICDC-owned land will be acquired by the conglomerate in exchange for new SMIC common shares. SMIC owns 96.75% of ICDC.

“SMIC will increase its real estate assets through the acquisition of the properties and issue new SMIC shares as consideration,” the conglomerate said.

“In accordance with applicable SEC rules and regulations, the respective boards of directors of the SMIC and ICDC deemed it necessary and advisable to enter into the transaction for optimal utilization and development of the properties and to align with their respective broader business strategies,” it added.

The conglomerate has not yet disclosed specific figures, as the transaction is still pending approval and valuation confirmation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SMIC’s core businesses are in the banking, property, and retail segments. It also has portfolio investments in the mining, leisure, renewable energy, and logistics sectors.

For the first half, SMIC grew its consolidated net income by 10% to P40.2 billion from P36.5 billion last year. Consolidated revenue rose by 5% to P301.4 billion. On Tuesday, SMIC shares rose by 0.54% or P5 to P930 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave