SM Prime CFO Jeffrey Lim (left) and CEO Hans Sy (right). Photo by Krista Angela M. Montealegre

MANILA – (UPDATED October 11, 2013, 7:45 p.m.) The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the merger of Henry Sy’s property businesses under SM Prime Holdings Inc.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, SM Prime said the regulator approved on Thursday its merger with SM Land Inc.

The SEC also approved the changes in SM Prime’s primary purpose to mixed-use real property development as part of the reorganization and the doubling of the company’s authorized capital stock from P20 billion to P40 billion.

SM Prime will issue new shares for the merger and the acquisition of real estate companies and specific assets of SM Investment Corporation, the Sy family’s holding company.

SM is undertaking a series of transactions worth P279 billion designed to consolidate the property companies and assets of the Sy family under one publicly listed entity, SM Prime, thereby creating the country’s biggest real estate firm.

SM Land recently completed the acquisition of shares of condo builder SM Development Corporation and leisure developer Highlands Prime Inc in exchange for shares of SM Prime.

The consolidated pro-forma net income of the SM property group rose 14 percent to almost P7 billion from P6.14 billion last year