Bacnotan Consolidated expands school portfolio

Bacnotan Consolidated Industries Inc. (BCII) has acquired 56 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of Cagayan de Oro College Inc. for P173.3 million through a share purchase agreement, the company said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

This is the second school acquired by BCII after the Manila-based Araullo University. The move is in line with the company’s strategy to expand investments in the services sector to generate attractive shareholder value.

BCII said its objective is to build a network of three to five universities and colleges all over the Philippines with a total student population of some 50,000 to 75,000. The company is also considering investing in a school in the central province of Iloilo.

BCII is also looking at investing in medical services and hotels as part of efforts to tap other sources of revenues. It plans to acquire a full-service hospital which could cost between P350 million and P500 million.

The company is also considering investing in a possible chain of tourism and business-oriented affordable but high quality hotels in key cities throughout the country.

BCII’s expansion binge follows the recent divestment of its cement business. In August last year, the company sold its 21.31-percent stake in Union Cement Holdings to Cemco Holdings for $89.4 million. This divestment allowed BCII to distribute significant cash dividends, pay off its outstanding loans, fully redeem all of its outstanding preferred shares, and explore opportunities in various sectors.

For its housing business, BCII, through Phinma Property Holdings Corp. will build another 100,000 housing units in Quezon City through its new project, Spazio Bernardos.

PPHC is able to offer attractive homes in wholesome communities at highly affordable prices, supported by Pag-IBIG financing. PPHC units are typically 30 square meters in size and sell for P500,000 to P800,000.

Apart from this, BCII may also bid for the geothermal plants being privatized by the National Power Corp. Among these power plants include the 330-megawatt Tiwi plant, 410-megawatt Makban plant and 112.5-megawatt Palinpinon.

BCII subsidiaries Trans-Asia Oil and TA Power, vehicles through which the group seeks opportunities in the energy sector, currently operate a 53-megawatt dedicated power plant for Holcim Philippines Inc. It intends to form a consortium with both local and foreign firms in preparation for the planned bidding.