Ayala Corp. is hopeful it could complete its $1- billion divestment this year, three years since the plan was announced.
Alberto de Larrazabal, Ayala chief finance officer, said the group is “close to 70 percent” of its goal and that “one or two more deals” are left to hit the target.
“There’s quite a few. If you look at some of the smaller assets in the industrial portfolio. We’ve mentioned in the past LRMC (Light Rail Manila Co.), that’s still one thing we have to work on,” Larrazabal said.
“Then there’s Manila Water Co. We can do that in part,” he added.
Larrazabal said Razon-led Prime Infrastructure Corp., Ayala’s partner in Manila Water, has indicated its desire to consider the group’s remaining stake in the company when it sells.
“So we will obviously take that,” said Larrazabal, adding the group’s remaining 23 percent stake in Manila Water and that of LRMC could fetch between $350 million $400 million.
“There’s still a few other smaller assets that we’re working on,” Larrazabal said.
In LRMC, he said, the group has received interest from private equity ventures, specially after the company that operates Light Rail Transit Line 1 received its fare increase.
“So now it looks a lot more valuable. So there is increasingly more interest,” he said.
Larrazabal said Ayala hopes to seal the deals “within the next four to six months.”
Ayala announced its plan to sell assets worth $1 billion in 2021.
Since then, the group has sold its interest in the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway, cut its stake in Manila Water and sold interest in its manufacturing-related businesses as of last year – an effort which Ayala chief Cezar Consing said is “recycling of capital.”
