Philippine conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. is considering a sale of a minority stake in its animal feed business Pilmico Foods Corp., people familiar with the matter said.
Aboitiz is considering selling about 20% to 30% of the unit, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The transaction could value the entire business at more than $1 billion, they said.
Deliberations are ongoing and the companies could decide against a deal, the people said. A representative for the company declined to comment.
Pilmico has more than 29 facilities, including flour and feed mills, pig farms and a meat-cutting facility across nine Asia-Pacific countries, according to its website. It bought a controlling stake in animal feed producer Gold Coin Management Holdings Ltd. from Golden Springs Group for $334 million in 2018. Gold Coin became wholly owned by Pilmico in 2019.
The potential stake sale comes after Aboitiz cut its planned capital expenditure by a third to P47 billion ($967 million) last year, citing the coronavirus pandemic.
Aboitiz reported net income for its food manufacturing segment of P1.1 billion in the first nine months of 2020, a 10.8% decrease on the same period the year before. The company said a decline in revenue was due to lower selling prices for the group’s feed business, offsetting higher sales volumes. – Bloomberg
