GREGORIO ARANETA, Inc. (GAINC) has sold its 57% controlling stake in publicly listed PhilWeb Corp. to holding companies Nexora Holdings, Inc. and Velora Holdings, Inc.
In a disclosure on Thursday, GAINC said that it signed a share purchase agreement on Oct. 8 covering the transfer of 829.57 million common shares for a total consideration of P1.8 billion, or P2.17 per share.
Its buyers, Nexora Holdings and Velora Holdings, are “domestic holding companies organized under Philippine law to acquire, hold, own, sell, exchange, or invest in securities, properties, and related assets with full ownership and voting rights.”
“None of the buyers is engaged in securities brokering, portfolio management for third-party clients, public solicitation of investments, or the issuance of investment contracts,” GAINC said.
Under the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), any person or group that acquires more than 35% of the outstanding voting shares of a listed company is required to conduct a mandatory tender offer to the remaining shareholders.
As stated in the disclosure, “the buyers must comply with this requirement within the timeframe set by law.”
“GAINC shall keep the corporation apprised of material developments concerning the foregoing transaction, including fulfilment of any and all conditions precedent to the closing or completion to enable the Corporation to undertake such corporate actions (including the filing of appropriate disclosures for the purpose) as may be required or appropriate in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations,” the company said.
Trading of PhilWeb (WEB) shares was halted for one hour on Thursday following the disclosure of the share purchase agreement involving its principal shareholder.
“In view of the materiality of the information reported in the company’s disclosure and to give all market participants sufficient time to digest the foregoing, the Exchange will implement a one-hour trading halt on WEB shares from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. today, Oct. 9,” the Philippine Stock Exchange said.
PhilWeb shares dropped by 20.24% or P1.03 to close at P4.06 apiece on Thursday. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno
