A group, which includes a company owned by the Unioil Group, Inc. on Monday began a tender offer to acquire 33.03% of Chemical Industries of the Philippines, Inc.’s (CIP) outstanding capital stock.
In a newspaper bulletin published yesterday, the bidders formed by Quantumlink Realty Corp., Citiworld Properties & Development Corp., Exquadra Inc. and Lavish Sources Ltd. notified shareholders of CIP of its plan to buy 3,400,967 common shares in the listed firm priced at P177.63 per share, or a total of P604.11 million.
On Monday, shares in CIP closed at P170 each.
The tender offer period will run until Jan. 27 at 3:30 p.m.
Quantumlink is a Filipino firm that is 57% owned by the Unioil Group, Inc. Citiworld and Exquadria are likewise local firms that are in the business of real estate and land acquisition. Lavish Sources is registered in the British Virgin Islands and has business in the Philippines through a local storage facility.
The bidders signed in November a share purchase agreement with CIP shareholders, namely Philippine Indochem Corp., Chemholdings Corp., A2K Holdings Corp., Chemphil Employees Livelihood Foundation, Inc. and businessman Antonio M. Garcia.
The share purchase agreement, as disclosed to the stock exchange on Dec. 2, is for the bidders’ intention to buy 5,866,001 common shares in CIP representing a 56.97% stake for P1 billion.
Under the tender offer, the common shares of CIP that will be sold to the bidders will be “by way of a special block sale through the facilities of the PSE (Philippine Stock Exchange) subject to the approval by PSE on or before 29 January 2020,” the newspaper bulletin said.
In the tender offer conditions submitted by CIP to the PSE last week, the bidders said they are “looking for the possibility of infusing assets and funding further business projects for CIP including investments in a new blending plant for lubricants and construction of warehouses.”
“One option being considered by the bidders is to conduct a subsequent public offering to be conducted by CIP as an initial fundraising activity in order to spearhead new business projects for CIP. However… there are neither concrete plans nor definitive agreements with regard to said options,” it added.
It also said once the bidders have successfully bought the CIP shares, it will elect representatives to the company’s board of directors; may change the company’s corporate name, structure and principal business; and issue additional shares out of the unissued capital stock of CIP or increase its authorized capital stock. But it noted the transaction “will not result in the delisting of (CIP) shares from PSE.”
CIP’s existing business is in the manufacturing of various kinds of chemicals. It is the parent company of CAWC, Inc.; Chemphil Manufacturing Corp. and Kemwater Phil. Corp. — Denise A. Valdez
