LISTED conglomerate PHINMA Corp. said it will acquire cement manufacturer Petra Cement, Inc. for P500 million to strengthen its cement business.

The conglomerate, through its subsidiary Philcement Corp., signed a share purchase deal on May 20 with Petra Cement, PHINMA Corp. said in a stock exchange disclosure on Tuesday.

 “Philcement Mindanao Corp., a subsidiary of Philcement, will pay a consideration of P500 million in exchange for 100% of the outstanding shares of Petra Cement,” PHINMA Corp. said.

The transaction is expected to be closed by Dec. 31.

 The acquisition follows the manufacturing and sale agreement signed by Philcement and Petra Cement on Jan. 11.

 Philcement will operate Petra Cement’s plant in President Manuel A. Roxas, Zamboanga del Norte.

The agreement also covers the production, distribution, and retail of cement products.

 The plant has a cement grinding facility with a capacity of 500,000 metric tons per annum that caters to the Northern Mindanao market.

 “This is aligned with Philcement’s growth strategy and its promise to assure Filipino consumers with reliable, high quality supply of cement products under its legacy brand, Union Cement,” PHINMA Corp. said.

 Philcement is a 60% owned unit of PHINMA Corp. It has business interests in the production, importation, processing, distribution, and sale of cement products. It currently operates a cement processing facility in the Freeport Area of Bataan in Mariveles.

 Philcement Mindanao is a 70% owned subsidiary of Philcement.

 For the first quarter, PHINMA Corp. saw a 1.2% increase in its net income to P490.53 million as consolidated revenue surged by 14% to P5.45 billion led by its education business.

 PHINMA Corp. shares rose by 1.49% or 30 centavos to P20.45 each on Tuesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave