February 27, 2015
Business World by Krista Montealegre | http://goo.gl/xGw9yH
FIRST PACIFIC Co. Ltd. completed the infusion of fresh capital amounting to P1.7 billion into Roxas Holdings, Inc. (RHI), effectively gaining control of the local sugar company.
RHI told the stock exchange First Agri Holdings Corp. (FAHC) purchased 241.78 million treasury shares of the listed company on Friday at P7 per share. FAHC is a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based First Pacific.
The purchase price represents just a slight premium from the stock’s closing price of P6.99 per share when the company’s board of directors approved the share sale on Thursday.
With the additional equity investment, First Pacific raised its shareholdings in RHI to 50.9% from 34% after buying an additional 35 million shares held by Pedro E. Roxas, the sugar producer’s chairman, and related parties.
Roxas & Company, Inc. -- the holding firm of the Roxas family -- bought 33.1 million shares worth P232 million from the market to bring its stake in RHI to 30%, down from 35% prior to the transaction.
RHI will use the P1.7-billion additional equity for plant upgrades, possible mergers and/or acquisitions, expansion of its ethanol business, and the development of power co-generation facilities, Mr. Roxas said.
“FP and RHI will continue to work for the consolidation of the industry in order for it to survive. We need to immediately bring plant utilization and efficiencies up,” he added.
The additional P1.7-billion equity expanded RHI’s total equity by 25% from P6.93 billion to P8.63 billion.
One of the largest sugar millers and refiners in the Philippines, RHI manages wholly owned Central Azucarera Don Pedro Inc. in Nasugbu, Batangas, and Central Azucarera de la Carlota Inc. and Roxol Bioenergy Corp. in La Carlota, Negros Occidental. It also holds 45% of affiliate Hawaiian-Philippine Company.
Besides agriculture, First Pacific has interests in telecommunications, infrastructure and mining. The conglomerate’s biggest businesses are in the Philippines, including Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Philex Mining Corp.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld.
RHI shares slid 8.44%, or 59 centavos, to close at P6.40 per share on Friday