Allen & Overy (A&O), as foreign transaction counsel, has advised AREIT, Inc. (AREIT) on its initial public offering of shares listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange. A&O, as foreign transaction counsel, also advised Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) as a selling shareholder in the transaction. The offering size was approximately USD 253 million. The over-allocation option could bring the size up to USD 278 million. BPI Capital Corporation was the sole global coordinator and joint bookrunner. UBS AG Singapore Branch was the international joint bookrunner and PNB Capital and Investment Corporation and SB Capital Investment Corporation were joint lead underwriters.

AREIT is the Philippines’ first real estate investment trust (REIT) since the country created a legal framework for REITs in 2009 and this transaction is the first REIT listing in the Philippines.

The IPO covered the institutional book of its IPO after the first day of its roadshow and was oversubscribed by twice the base offer size. Proceeds from the primary offer will be used to acquire another property in the Philippines. Proceeds from the secondary offer will be reinvested by ALI in local real estate projects.

Acting on this landmark transaction builds on A&O’s long, extensive and unmatched experience and expertise in the Asian REITs space, having acted on numerous REITs transactions for major real estate sponsors in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and now the Philippines.

Giancarlo Sambalido, counsel in A&O’s International Capital Markets practice in Hong Kong, commented: “Ayala Land is a valued client and the creation and development of the Philippine REITs market is a priority for the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange. We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to contribute A&O’s extensive REITs expertise and experience to the success of the landmark transaction and to help in the strategic development of the Philippine capital markets.”

The core A&O team involved on this transaction primarily comprised Giancarlo Sambalido in Hong Kong with support from Yin Mei Lock, Alexander Stathopoulos, Kai Hsien Yang, Ingram Weber and Jeremy Teh in Singapore, Ken Rivlin and André Matias in New York, and Kuang Chiang in Washington D.C.