By James A. Loyola
Ayala Corporation logo (Photo courtesy of www.ayala.com.ph/)
Ayala Corporation, through wholly-owned subsidiary AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation (AC Infra), has teamed up with the German affiliate of online shopping firm Zalora for its entry into the logistics business.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Ayala said AC Infra has teamed up with Brillant 1257 GmbH & Co. Vierte Verwaltungs Kg.
The firms have formed a holding company that will serve as their investment vehicle for future initiatives relating to courier and freight forwarding services.
AC Infra holds 60 percent equity interest in the unnamed holding company, while Brillant holds 40 percent equity interest.
The Ayala group earlier entered into the e-commerce space with the acquisition of a 49 percent interest in BF Jade E-Service Philippines, Inc., the owner and operator of online fashion platform Zalora Philippines. The investment was made through its wholly-owned subsidiary, AC Ventures Holding Corporation, alongside subsidiaries Ayala Land, Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands and Globe Telecom.
Ayala has directly acquired 269.86 million shares representing a 43.28 percent interest in BF E-Jade, while Ayala Land said it bought 11.89 million shares, representing a 1.91 percent stake in the Zalora owner. The remaining shares were purchased by BPI Capital and Kickstart Ventures.
“Through this transaction, Ayala aims to capture the growing opportunities in e-commerce amid a robust domestic consumer market and an increasingly digital environment,” said Ayala.
It added that, “with businesses in real estate, banking, and telecommunications, this investment provides opportunities for Ayala to create synergies across the e-commerce value chain.”
Zalora is currently the Philippines’ largest online fashion destination offering over 120,000 products across more than 1,000 brands in accessories, beauty, clothing, shoes and sports.