SM Garners Most Innovative Deal award for Property Merger
15 January 2013, Pasay City, Philippines. SM Investments Corporation (SMIC or SM) garnered the “Most Innovative Deal” Award from financial magazine Alpha Southeast Asia for the merger of its property assets.
According to Siddiq Bazarwala, publisher at Alpha Southeast Asia magazine “In line with SM Investments Corporation’s vision to create a leading and integrated real estate company in Asia, the company embarked on a highly transformational transaction to consolidate all of its real estate interests under its SMIC subsidiary and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) listed SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime) in May 2013.
Plans for the consolidation of SM Investments’ property-related businesses under SM Prime were first announced on May 31 of this year involving a series of steps which included tender offers leading to the delisting of SM Development Corporation and Highlands Prime, Inc.; the merger of SM Land, Inc. (SM Land) with SM Prime through a share-for-share swap; and the acquisition by SM Prime of certain real estate companies and assets held by SM Investments in exchange for new shares in SM Prime. These transactions were subsequently approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission last October 10.
Alpha Southeast Asia further said that “the tender offers were a milestone in the reinvigorated equity markets of the Philippines, where for the first time, simultaneous tender offers for two PSE-listed companies were undertaken by a single purchaser, SM Land, and paid for with PSE-listed shares of another company, SM Prime, instead of the typical cash-for-shares consideration in a tender offer. Furthermore, the SM Prime shares offered as consideration provided tendering shareholders a mechanism to directly migrate their stakeholdings to the entity, SM Prime, which now serves as the Group’s flagship real estate entity subsequent to the entire consolidation exercise.”
Bazarwala added that the “domestic merger has therefore helped SMIC increase synergies and organizational efficiencies among the various real estate business units, and will no doubt further enhance the value of its real estate businesses in the Philippines. SM Prime is now emerging as one of the Southeast Asia’s leading real estate companies with an aggregate land bank of more than 825 hectares and total assets of US$7.5 billion as of September 30, 2013.
While a number of domestic M&A deals took place across the Southeast Asian region in 2013, this strategic consolidation will go a long way in strengthening SM Prime’s balance sheet for accelerated growth which will in turn, help the company transform into a world-class regional real estate giant in years to come, and make it a true leader across various real estate asset classes unlike another.”
“We are grateful to Alpha Southeast Asia for this award which affirms our commitment to the Philippines. We are optimistic about the country’s long-term growth prospects as we continue to work hard to turn our vision into reality amid the challenges of innovative change and a competitive marketplace,” SM Vice Chairman Henry Sy, Jr. said.
The award received by SM follows a weeklong intensive review of over 56 bank submissions covering over 200 deals or solutions from brokerages, commercial and investment banks and relevant institutions throughout the Southeast Asian region. It also forms part of the magazine’s 7th Annual Best Deal & Solution Awards for 2013. The awarding ceremony will be held on January 23, 2014 in Kuala Lumpur.
About Alpha Southeast Asia
Alpha Southeast Asia is headquartered in Hong Kong with bureaus and correspondents in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore and Bangkok. The monthly financial magazine is written for institutional investors, and asset and fund management companies in Hong Kong, Singapore, other parts of Asia, US, Europe and the Middle East. Over 55% of its readers represent international institutional investors and financial institutions. It also has a strong following among the region’s largest local corporates. Since its launch in 2007, Alpha Southeast Asia has published monthly bank-sponsored reports on wealth management, equity strategy, macroeconomic outlook, cash management, trade financing, local currency bond markets and Islamic finance in Southeast Asia.
About SM Investments Corporation
SM is one of the country’s largest holding companies. Over the last five decades, SM has demonstrated its leadership in its core businesses—banking, property development and retail as well as growing interest in hotels and conventions. SM has also ventured into investments outside of its core businesses where it sees value and high growth opportunities such as in mining, energy, and integrated resorts to name a few. SM is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange under the symbol, “SM”. SM’s American Depositary Receipts (ADR) is available over the counter in the United States under the symbol “SMIVY”.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Corazon P. Guidote
Senior Vice President for Investor Relations
SM Investments Corporation
E-mail: cora.guidote@sminvestments.com
Tel. No. 857-0117
Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2014