Regarded as one of the leading business schools in the region, AIM has outgrown its current location that’s surrounded by shopping malls and residential towers in the heart of the Makati City business district.
This led to talks for Ayala Land to purchase the prized 1.3-hectare property that it donated to AIM before the school opened in 1968.
An insider shared that AIM has been in talks with the Ty family’s Federal Land to potentially relocate to its development along the bay area.
As for the sale itself, the insider noted that major parties are ready to move forward with the deal. In fact, the big surprise is that the purchase price may come close to the market value estimated at about P10 billion.
Ayala Land may have donated the land decades ago, but the developer and AIM agreed it was only fair to pay near prevailing rates in the highly commercialized area.
So what’s the holdup?
The insider shared that the Lopez family, whose role in the AIM’s founding is honored through its Eugenio Lopez Foundation Building, has concerns about the sale.
Their interests are represented by Federico “Piki” Lopez, a member of AIM’s board of trustees. The family has yet to respond to an InsiderPH request for their stance on the matter.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
