Rockwell Properties (PSE: ROCK) recently increased its ownership of Alabang Commercial Corporation, the company that owns Alabang Town Center, to almost 100%. The latest purchase of a 22.96% stake for ₱6.2 billion implied an equity value of approximately ₱27 billion for the entire company.
This valuation is remarkably consistent with the transaction completed months earlier when Ayala Land (PSE: ALI) agreed to sell its 50% stake for ₱13.5 billion, which also implied an equity value of roughly ₱27 billion.
Whenever a listed company spends billions of pesos on an acquisition, the obvious question is whether shareholders are receiving good value. In this case, the answer depends entirely on how one values Alabang Town Center.
Looking Only at Current Earnings
One challenge for investors is that neither Rockwell nor Ayala Land discloses the standalone financial statements of Alabang Commercial Corporation. As a result, there is no separate breakdown of Alabang Town Center’s revenue, net income or EBITDA.
To estimate the mall’s earnings, Financial Adviser used two independent approaches. The first estimates Alabang Town Center’s contribution based on its gross leasable area relative to the entire Ayala Malls portfolio. The second reconciles the increase in Rockwell’s commercial revenues and EBITDA following the consolidation of Alabang Commercial Corporation.
The two approaches produced remarkably similar results. Both suggest that Alabang Town Center generates approximately ₱2.2 billion to ₱2.4 billion in annual revenue and around ₱1.3 billion to ₱1.5 billion in EBITDA.
Ayala Land disclosed that Alabang Town Center has approximately 137,000 square meters of gross leasable area. Compared with Ayala Malls’ portfolio of about 2.2 million square meters, the property accounts for roughly 6% of the group’s retail footprint.
Meanwhile, Rockwell’s first quarter 2026 results showed a sharp increase in commercial revenues and EBITDA after consolidating Alabang Commercial Corporation, with the acquisition serving as the primary driver of that growth.
If these estimates are reasonably accurate, Rockwell effectively paid about 18 to 21 times EBITDA, equivalent to an EBITDA yield of roughly 5%.
By comparison, mature shopping malls and many listed REITs generally trade at higher cash yields, which suggest that the acquisition appears expensive when viewed solely on the basis of its current operating income.
Ayala Land’s own disclosure lends support to that conclusion. The company described the transaction as an unsolicited premium offer, which indicates that management believed it had received an attractive price for its investment.
Yet focusing only on today’s rental income risks overlooking what Rockwell actually acquired. The company was not simply buying a mature shopping mall. It was securing almost complete ownership of a 17.5-hectare mixed-use estate in one of Metro Manila’s most established business districts. This gives Rockwell the flexibility to unlock additional value over time through new residential towers, office buildings, hotels and other commercial developments.
From this perspective, the acquisition begins to look less like an expensive mall purchase and more like a long-term investment in one of the few remaining large redevelopment opportunities in southern Metro Manila.
More Than a Shopping Mall
At first glance, the numbers appear to support the argument that Rockwell paid a premium.
However, valuing this transaction solely on the basis of today’s rental income may overlook what the company actually acquired.
Rockwell was not simply purchasing one of Metro Manila’s established shopping malls. It was acquiring almost complete control of 17.5 hectares of prime commercial land in Alabang, one of the few remaining large contiguous mixed-use estates in southern Metro Manila.
A mature shopping mall typically offers stable rental income but relatively modest long-term growth. An integrated estate, on the other hand, provides multiple avenues for value creation. Beyond retail, Rockwell now has greater flexibility to introduce additional residential towers, office buildings, hotels and other commercial developments as market demand evolves.
In that sense, the acquisition is better viewed as a long-term redevelopment opportunity than a conventional mall purchase.
Following the Rockwell Playbook
Rockwell Center in Makati became one of the country’s most valuable mixed-use developments not because of Power Plant Mall alone, but because the company spent decades building residential towers, offices, hotels and lifestyle components around a carefully planned estate.
Management appears to envision a similar approach for Alabang.
Rockwell has already announced a long-term master plan for Alabang Town Center that includes improvements to circulation, parking facilities, tenant mix and the overall customer experience before moving on to larger redevelopment initiatives. The transformation is expected to unfold over several years rather than a few quarters.
For long-term investors, the value of the acquisition may therefore lie less in today’s rental income and more in the future development potential of the estate.
Why Full Ownership Matters
Before the acquisition, minority shareholders owned nearly one-quarter of Alabang Commercial Corporation. As a result, a significant portion of future earnings, redevelopment gains and property appreciation accrued to investors outside Rockwell.
Following the latest acquisition, Rockwell now owns more than 99% of the company.
This effectively allows the group to retain almost all future cash flows and gives management greater flexibility to pursue long-term redevelopment plans without balancing the interests of significant minority shareholders.
Ultimately, the success of the acquisition will depend not on whether Alabang Town Center continues to perform as a shopping mall, but on whether Rockwell can unlock the long-term value of one of Metro Manila’s most strategically located commercial estates.
The Investment Case
Traditional valuation measures such as price-to-earnings and EBITDA multiples tell only part of the story.
On the basis of current earnings, the acquisition appears expensive. However, that assessment assumes Alabang Town Center remains largely the same business it is today.
Rockwell’s investment thesis appears to be very different. Rather than maximizing the value of an existing shopping mall, the company is positioning itself to unlock the long-term potential of a fully controlled mixed-use estate through future residential, office, hospitality and commercial developments.
In other words, the market is valuing today’s cash flows, while Rockwell appears to be investing in tomorrow’s development opportunities.
