Udenna dips into water business

MANILA, Philippines — Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy has acquired Philippine H2O Ventures Corp., his foray into the water supply system in Calapan, Mindoro and other parts of the country.

Uy, through his Udenna Development Corp., signed a memorandum of agreement to acquire the shares of listed holding company Jolliville Holdings Corp., its subsidiaries and related parties, in H20 Ventures.

Aside from Jolliville, the other sellers are KGT Ventures Inc., Melan Properties Corp., NGTO Resources Corp., OTY Development Corp., Nanette Ongcarranceja, Ortrud Yao, Kenrick  Ting, Jolly Ting and Lourdes Ting.

Collectively, the sellers own a total of 150.82 million common shares, representing 62  percent of the issued and outstanding capital of H2O, inclusive of the 36.73 percent held by Jolliville.

H2O is an investment holding company, which is engaged in the operation, maintenance, and distribution of water supply system through its subsidiary, Calapan Waterworks Corp. (CWWC). Its shares are listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange.

According to the memorandum of agreement, H2O shall implement and complete a spin-off by selling all of its existing business and assets, including shares and interests in CWWC and all other interests in other corporations.

“H2O shall also collect all receivables, settle all its obligations, assign its contractual interests, transfer or reassign all of its employees and settle and dissolve its retirement fund,” Jolliville said in a disclosure.

The parties will sign a detailed share purchase agreement within 45 days from the signing of the MOA on Dec. 19.

Udenna will also do a mandatory tender offer for the H2O shares pursuant to the Securities Regulation Code.

Uy, chairman of Phoenix Petroleum, has been on a non-stop buying spree and has been aggressively growing his conglomerate. He has acquired Enderun Colleges, Family Mart and is also building a mammoth casino in Cebu.

Udenna was incorporated in the Philippines on March 19, 2002. As a group, it is comprised of a dynamic group of companies engaged in diverse businesses including, among others, petroleum and oil (Phoenix), shipping and logistics (Chelsea Logistics and 2Go), real estate and property development (Udevco), education (Enderun), and convenience stores (Family Mart).

Uy said he plans to list more companies in the future.