Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. of Bilyonaryo Frank Gaisano is paying P499 million to the Ayala-Tantoco joint venture for the acquisition of the Wellworth department store in a mall in Quezon City.
Metro Retail Stores said the purchase price based on book value would be paid in four installment payments with the first payment made last March 1.
Three more installment payments would be paid o July 31, December 31, and July 30 next year.
Sial Specialty Retailers Inc., a joint venture between Ayala Land Inc. and SSI Stores Inc. of the Tantoco family formed in 2014, sold the Wellworth department stores at Fairview Terraces and UP Town Center.
The deal will allow Metro Retail Stores to expand its network of department stores in these two key locations, by a combined total gross floor area of around 25,000 square meters.
Wellworth is a mid-market department store that carries a wide array of international and local brands like F&F, Le Tigre, Savile Row and Forme.
Metro Retail Stores is the largest department store and hypermarket operator in the Visayas region. It raised P3.62 billion in fresh capital from an initial public offering last year as it plans to double its retail business by opening 50 to 70 stores over the next five years.
