4 firms offer to infuse capital into VMC

BACOLOD CITY – Four companies have offered to put in the P300 million fresh capital for Victorias Milling Co. by April 15 as required under the Securities and Exchange Commission-approved rehabilitation plan.

Two of them, JG Summit Holdings Inc. of the Gokongwei Group of Companies, and the ATR Kim Eng, did not only offer to infuse the fresh funds, but also submitted offers to buyout both secured and unsecured creditors of the sugar mill and take over ownership.

The two other bidders, Julio Sy group and the Señoron group, have offered the P300 million additional capitalization in the form of a loan.

VMC president Arthur Aguilar told The STAR that the board has formed a special committee to tackle the offers.

The committee, composed of eight directors from the creditor-banks, will meet with representatives of the companies for a pre-bidding conference, he said. For transparency, representatives will be invited to a meeting together and discuss their respective offers, he also said.

The discussions, however, will be non-binding, he added.

Meanwhile, ATR has made a similar proposal offered by JG Summit, which was forced to make a disclosure to the PSE, Aguilar said. Investment firm ATR is represented by Buboy Macapagal.

He said they were not aware that Argosy Ltd. was representing John Gokongwei Jr.

In its PSE disclosure, JG Summit offered a P2.3 billion package for funding and debt repayment needs of the sugar company. These include the P300 million capital infusion while the P2 billion is for the acquisition of all the rights, title and interest of both VMC secured and unsecured creditors.

Aguilar explained that the P300-million offer will have to pass through the mill board and management, but the Gokongwei and the ATR groups will have to individually ask the creditor banks for their buyout proposals.

If the creditor banks agree to the proposal of either ATR or Gokongwei and sell their interests, either ATR or Gokongwei, whoever wins, will own VMC, he also said.

Under the quasi-reorganization, VMC’s 27 creditor banks will be able to convert P1.1 billion in loans to about 70 percent of VMC equity.

Aguilar said the record performance of Victorias Milling has been a factor in attracting the interest of credible groups such as the Gokongweis and ATR.