F&J Prince to form joint venture IT company

Investment holding firm F&J Prince Holdings Corp. will form a three-way joint venture company capitalized at P100 million, the latest publicly-listed company to hitch on to the information technology (IT) bandwagon.

F&J Prince president Robert Cokeng told the Philippine Stock Exchange that the company has signed an agreement with two other domestic firms for a joint venture to provide software servicing, maintenance and development for clients here and abroad.

Under the joint venture, F&J Prince will take up a 30-percent stake in the new company; another 30 percent will be subscribed by Project Quest Corp.; and the remaining 40 percent will be controlled by Pointwest Technologies Inc.

Due to its expertise and as the lead firm in the joint venture, Pointwest will be responsible for the new company’s operations. Established by a group of professional managers that pioneered offshore IT outsourcing, Pointwest offers outsourced IT services from the Philippines for global distribution. These services include application, development and implementation, maintenance and 24-hour desk support, conversion and migration and testing services.

Project Quest, on the other hand, is a venture capital company organized and managed by Pacific Northstar Inc. and mostly owned by institutional investors.

Headed by Philippine National Bank chairman Francisco Dizon, Project Quest invests at the mezzanine level (or incubator phase) in companies with high growth potential, with the main objective of generating substantial capital gains through the listing on the PSE of its investee companies.

F&J Prince was originally in the business of mining, including mineral and oil exploration but changed its focus to being a holding company in 1997. Its principal investment at present is Magellan Capital Holdings Corp. (MCHC), wherein F&P holds a majority interest. MCHC is a corporation engaged in business of identifying, developing and implementing infrastructure and industrial projects and taking a substantial equity stake in these projects.

At present, its principal assets are its shares in its subsidiary, MCHC, which is currently involved in power generation and real estate development projects. – Conrado Diaz Jr.