LBC EXPRESS Holdings, Inc. acquired United States-based cargo and remittance companies from its affiliate for $8.5 million to boost revenues from international markets.

The logistics and money services firm, in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Thursday, said its board of directors approved the purchase of LBC Mundial Corp., LBC Mabuhay Saipan, Inc., LBC Mabuhay Hawaii Corp. and LBC Mabuhay North America Corp.

“The acquisition is expected to benefit the company by contributing to its global revenue stream,” LBC Express said.

The biggest component of the acquisition was LBC Mundial, which operates as a cargo and remittance company in California. The purchase price amounted to $6.86 million.

The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. suspended the trading of LBC shares on Thursday, noting the transactions are covered by the bourse’s rules on disclosure for substantial acquisitions and reverse takeovers.

Trading of LBC shares will remain suspended pending the company’s compliance with the disclosure requirements under the above-mentioned rule. Its shares were last traded at P15 apiece on March 7.

In the nine months ending September 2017, LBC grew its net income by nearly a fifth to P733.5 million from P620.5 million a year ago buoyed by the double-digit growth in service revenues.

The company had said it may exceed its initial core net income target of P985 million for full-year 2017 by 3-5%.

LBC is banking on the growth of the country’s logistics sector especially with the rise of the e-commerce industry and small to medium enterprises.

In June, the Araneta-led firm secured board approval to issue $50 million in secured convertible notes to private equity firm CP Briks Pte. Ltd.

Regulators had rejected the company’s application for a P1.2-billion follow-on offering due to pending cases filed by the Philippine Depository Insurance Corp. against its owners for the supposed unsound management of the now defunct-LBC Development Bank, Inc. — Krista Angela M. Montealegre

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