Ayala Land, Inc. has sold its shares in wholly owned unit Bridgebury Realty Corp., which handles leasing for car park operations, to Mercator Securities Corp. for P900 million.

Ayala Land said Mercator had issued a P900-million promissory note in exchange for 8.84 million shares of stock in Bridgebury payable on Dec. 29, 2009.

In a letter to the exchange, Ayala Land Senior Vice-President and chief finance officer Jaime E. Ysmael said the country’s largest real estate developer had transferred the said shares to Mercator.

Sought for comment, Ayala Land external affairs officer Jan Bengzon said the sale is in line with the publicly listed firm’s efforts to maximize asset productivity as one of several initiatives to improve shareholder value.

"The sale of non-core assets, which includes investments and receivables, is being undertaken to optimize asset use and lighten the company’s asset base. Cash generated from asset sales has enabled the company to increase dividend payout, make additional investments and pare down debt," he said.


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