050207: AGI eyes P14.4B from shares sale

By Honey Madrilejos-Reyes

Reporter

ALLIANCE Global Group Inc. (AGI), the listed holding firm controlled by businessman Andrew Tan, aims to generate as much as P14.4 billion from a planned follow-on offering this semester. Sources privy to the shares sale told BusinessMirror that AGI would sell 1.8 billion unissued shares by way of a primary offer. The company is now waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue its stamp of approval for the offering. “The price is still to be determined by the management based on the market price,” the sources said. “But the maximum price the company is looking at is P8.” Shares of AGI closed at P6.20 Monday in Philippine Stock Exchange trading. The follow-on offering, the sources added, would involve the sale of 1.330 billion outstanding shares in a secondary offering. A provision for over-allotment would entail another 470 million of unissued outstanding shares. AGI said earlier the additional funds from the offering would be used primarily to expand its business investments. AGI is engaged in food and beverage, glass-container manufacturing and real estate. Last February, the company widened its business portfolio by buying common shares in two companies, namely, Emperador Distillers Inc. (EDI) and Megaworld Corp. These transactions totaled P20 billion. AGI acquired EDI’s common shares for P3 billion, turning the maker of Emperador Brandy its wholly owned unit. The company also increased its equity investment in Megaworld to 46 percent with the purchase of 5.248-billion common shares for P17 billion. Megaworld, in return, got 4.059 billion common shares in AGI taken from the latter’s unissued stocks. AGI, through its wholly owned unit Newtown Land Partners, already owns 21 percent of Megaworld. The company plans to do aggressive property development through Megaworld, which builds mid-income housing and space for outsourced business. The acquisition of EDI makes AGI a diversified food and beverage business, increasing its chances for future growth and expansion. AGI’s quick service restaurant operations will also get a boost from McDonald’s, which intends to double its outlets to 500 in the next five years.

 

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/05022007/companies01.html