THE real-estate arm of Southeast Asia’s largest food and beverage conglomerate has acquired a property firm.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, San Miguel Properties Inc. (SMPI) said it purchased all of the interests of Wallmasters Inc. and certain individuals in Maison 17 Properties Inc. (MPI) for P300 million.

MPI owns properties in Legazpi Village in Makati City.

“With the purchase, MPI will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company,” SMPI said.

SMPI earlier said, it is preparing with state-run Government Service Insurance System for the construction of a P3 billion, high-rise service apartment project in Makati City.

Alan Cruz, SMPI head for real estate development said the 30-storey building will break ground before the end of the year and will be finished after three years.

GSIS provided the land for the project.

Aside from the Makati project, SMPI is also looking for a buyer or partner for the development of its property on Boracay Island.

Ramon Ang, SMPI chairman, had said there is a good valuation for the 28-hectare prime property along Puka Beach, which would be converted into a mixed-use development.

Ang said the property is located near the high-end luxury hotel, Shangri-La Hotel Boracay.

Some valuable properties that SMPI has, Ang said, include a 125-hectare land in Tagaytay, a five-hectare lot in Sucat, Parañaque and its Pasay Road property in Makati City, each of which may cost at least P1 billion.

Despite an overall softening of the real estate market last year, the company said its net income more than doubled to P1.2 billion, boosting its cash position for new investments and acquisitions this year.

SMPI said the gains were realized from the substantial increase in the sales of its residential projects, bulk of which was contributed by large deals including the sale of its 29.4-percent stake in KSA Realty Inc. and its property in Aurora Boulevard, Quezon City.