SEC okays Abacus Consolidated’s capital increase to P2.5 billion

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the increase in authorized capital stock of listed holding firm Abacus Consolidated Resources & Holdings Inc. (ACRH) to P3 billion from only P500 million.

Of the increase in capital, P1.1 billion has already been subscribed and fully paid by Blue Stock Development Farms.

ACRH earlier approved the acquisition of 97 percent of Philippine Regional Investment Development Corp. (PRIDE) which owns the properties needed by the listed company for its business.

Under the plan, ACRH will issue P1.14 billion worth of shares to PRIDE in exchange for the acquisition of 97 percent of the latter. The new shares will come from the increase in authorized capital stock of ACRH from P500 million to P3 billion.

ACRH is a holding concern with interests in gaming and financial management.

Shares of the company were last traded Wednesday at P0.0085 per share.

ACRH was formerly known as Piedra Negra Mining Corp. (PNMC), a company engaged in coal production. On November 1989, PNMC changed its name to Abacus Consolidated Resources & Holdings Inc. and subsequently changed its primary purpose to that of a holding company on Oct. 17, 1995.

The company diversified into the gaming business with its acquisition of a 66.67-percent equity in G-Tech Philippines Inc. (now known as Abacus Gaming Technologies Inc.), relegating its mining production to that of a secondary concern.

Abacus Gaming is the single biggest stockholder of Pacific On-line Systems Inc., a lottery lessor of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes office for the Visayas and Mindanao region. Abacus likewise has controlling interest in Hedge Issues Management & Leverage Advisors Inc.