PSC minority shareholder asks SEC to okay block sale

After the buy-in of Taiwan’s President Chain Store Corp. (PCSC) into the Philippine franchise holder of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, a minority shareholder in Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission for the approval of a block sale that would cement its stake in the company.

Singapore-based Iona Investment Pte. Ltd. said it would exercise its rights on PSC’s warrants under Philippine Seven Holdings Corp. to convert into common shares of the publicly listed PSC.

PSC assistant corporate secretary Evelyn Enriquez said the intended block sale will result in Iona acquiring more than 10 percent of the outstanding capital stock of PSC.

Iona will convert 47,049,650 warrants into the same number of PSC common shares priced at P4.40 each, or P207 million. This conversion will raise Iona’s stake in PSC to 19.8 percent as soon as the remaining 30,720,500 warrants issued are also transformed into common shares.

The completion of the warrant exercise will increase PSC’s outstanding capital stock to 237,252,000, out of which 50.4 percent or 119,575,008 will be acquired by Taiwan’s PCSC.

Last Monday, the purchase agreement was signed between PSC and PCSC, the second largest Asian franchisor outside Japan of the 7-Eleven chain. The shares, which will be acquired through a tender offer, are priced at a premium of P8.30 each, from the P5 closing price at PSC last Sept. 8.

Aside from Iona, other shareholders in PSC include the group of former Trade Minister and Sen. Vicente Paterno and the Araneta family.– Conrado Diaz Jr.