Philippine company Vista Land & Lifescapes has paid US$691 million for a controlling 88 per cent stake in property developer Starmalls.

While both companies are essentially controlled by the family of former Philippine senator Manuel Villar, Vista believes the acquisition will transform it into a fully integrated property developer with continued leadership in horizontal residential projects combined with a sizeable and growing mass market retail mall and BPO platform and the ability to replicate the integrated ‘Communicity’ model across the Philippines.

“In addition, the company believes that the enhanced scale and stability provided by the acquisition and extensive synergies between the two businesses will strongly benefit the company and its shareholders going forward,” Vista said in a statement.

Starmalls is a developer, owner and operator of retail malls targeting mass market retail consumers in the Philippines. It focuses on densely populated areas underserved by similar retail malls and within close proximity to transport hubs and key infrastructure.

It owns and operates 10 retail malls in key cities and municipalities in the Philippines and two BPO commercial centers in Metro Manila, with a combined gross floor area (GFA) of 509,385 sqm. It has another four retail malls and one BPO commercial centre under construction, and plans to grow to over 1 million sqm in GFA via enhancements to existing assets and to over 1.3 million sqm in total GFA including new developments by the end of 2018.