Japan’s Asahi Glass eyes two subsidiaries of Republic Glass

Asahi Glass Co. Ltd. of Japan has sent feelers to the management of publicly-listed Republic Glass Holdings Corp. for a possible buy-out of the company’s two subsidiaries, a top RGHC official said.

In a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange, RGHC vice president and general manager Florence Wong said the Japanese glass giant "has indicated interest in acquiring by itself and/or through qualified nominees all of this company’s (RGHC’s) shareholdings in both Republic Asahi Glass Corp. and Republic Asahi Realty Corp."

She did not cite any indicative valuation for the sale of both companies.

RGHC, through its flagship unit Republic Asahi Glass Corp., dominates the local market for glass products, supplying over 70 percent of the requirements for home and building construction.

Its tie-up with Asahi Glass started in 1988 when they put up float glass plant in Batangas to become the country’s sole manufacturer and dominant supplier. The company has since expanded its market overseas, with exports to the US, Singapore and Indonesia, among others.

Wong said RGHC’s newly-elected board has given full power and authority to its chairman, former Energy Secretary Geronimo Z. Velasco, and to vice chairman and president Geronimo Velasco Jr. "to negotiate terms and conditions of such a divestment and to submit the results of such negotiations to the board for consideration."

The Velascos, through investment holding firm Gervel Inc., control 55.22 percent of RGHC. Other prominent investors in the company include retail king Henry Sy Sr., Bienvenido Tan Jr., Renato Ermita, Ma. Paz Amparo Laperal, Adeline Lim, and former National Power Corp. president Federico Puno.

At the PSE, shares of RGHC stood at 80 centavos each, still below its par value of P1. The company has 737 million outstanding shares, out of which 31.78 percent are held by the Asahi group.

In 1999, RGHC earned nearly P138 million while its retained earnings accumulated to P1.05 billion at yearend.