The Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX), which was constructed by the Ayala Group, will soon operate under the wing of former senator Manny Villar. This was after Ayala Group agreed to sell their 100% stake at the MCX Project Company, Inc. (MCXPCI) – which holds the concession rights for MCX – for PHP 3.8-billion to Villiar’s Prime Asset Ventures, Inc. (PAVI).
Under the agreement, PAVI will make the PHP 3.8-billion payment to Ayala Corporation in two tranches: the first PHP 3.219-billion will be paid at the financial closing, while the remaining PHP 581-million paycheck will be paid when Ayala Corporation’s lockup period expires, as prescribed in the MCX concession agreement with the Philippine government.
The sale of Ayala’s stake at MCXPCI to Villar's PAVI is subject to the consent of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which is the MCX’s project grantor.
DPWH was formerly headed by Manny Villar's son and former Las Pinas congressman, Mark Villar.
Ayala Corporation said that the sale of their stake to PAVI is in line with the refocusing their assets from certain non-core assets to the expansion of their real estate, banking, utilities, as well as to pump more funds onto their booming healthcare and logistics businesses.
MCX – which opened to the public in 2015, is a 4-kilometer, 2x2-lane toll road that connects South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) to Daang Hari in Bacoor, Cavite. Ayala Corporation entered into a concession agreement with the DPWH in 2012, and it was reported that MCX was completed at a cost PHP 2.23-billion.
