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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

San Miguel sets Petron buy-in

BusinessWorld
Jose Bimbo F. Santos

Conglomerate to purchase 40% stake in oil refiner’s owner

SAN MIGUEL CORP. will this week exercise an option to buy into Petron Corp., the country’s biggest oil refiner, as part of a move to diversify from the food and beverage business.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, San Miguel said its executive committee had authorized the option "to acquire on or before April 30" a total of 40% of the outstanding shares of Sea Refinery Corp., which owns 50.1% of Petron.

Sea Refinery is a unit of UK-based investment firm Ashmore Group. San Miguel last year inked a $10-million option agreement with Ashmore to buy up to 100% of Sea Refinery. The option will expire in December this year.

San Miguel said it would also conduct a tender offer for Petron shares held by the public, comprising 9.43%, "on the appropriate date ... at an offer price of P6.85 per share."

San Miguel President Ramon S. Ang, in a telephone interview, said they were preparing the documents for the tender offer, which is required for a buyer purchasing 35% or more of a listed firm.

The company did not say if the Sea Refinery stake purchase would mean an equivalent Petron shareholding of at least 35%.

"What we are doing right now is to have our tender offer. This will enable us to buy all shares of the public which is 9%. We are readying all documents," Mr. Ang said. Read more...

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