Mitsubishi to triple stake in Ayala in $709.5 million Philippines push

Sept 21 : Mitsubishi Corp will more than triple its stake in Ayala Corp to 15 per cent in a 44.5 billion Philippine peso ($709.48 million) deal, the Philippine conglomerate said on Monday, deepening the Japanese firm's footprint in the country.

At 650 Philippine pesos per share, the deal values Ayala at about 403.27 billion pesos, representing a nearly 22 per cent premium to its last closing price.

The Japanese trading house, which currently holds a stake of 4.7 per cent according to Ayala, will also increase its voting stake to 20 per cent once the transaction is completed.

The expanded alliance will deepen cooperation in consumer-facing businesses, while the two companies will also pursue opportunities across Ayala's core real estate and energy businesses, Mitsubishi said.

The deeper partnership comes as Ayala prepares for a potential windfall from the IPO of GCash parent Mynt, which it co-founded and which last week received exchange approval for a listing of up to $1.47 billion, potentially the Philippines' largest.

Mitsubishi expects the transaction to be completed within fiscal 2026.