Sy family open to acquiring more Atlas Mining shares

MANILA, Philippines - The family of the country’s richest man, Henry Sy, said it is open to acquiring more shares of Atlas Consolidated Mining & Development Corp. even after completing the purchase of a 17.9 percent stake in the publicly-listed mining firm.

“If an opportunity arises, why not?, said an official of SM Investments Corp., the listed investment holding firm of the Sy family.

SMIC is buying 316.2 million shares in Atlas through a private placement arranged by BDO Capital & Investment Corp. for $142.2 million, giving it two seats on the board. The buy-in marks the Sy family’s entry into the mining business.

SMIC said it is investing in Atlas as a bet that copper prices would continue to go up on strong demand from China and other growing Asian economies. It also noted that Atlas is one of the top 20 copper mining companies in the world, allowing it take advantage of rising metal prices.

The Sy-led firm is a dominant player in retailing, banking and shopping mall development. It is also a fast-growing player in residential and tourism-oriented real estate.

Proceeds of the investment will be used by Atlas to buy out its Singapore-based partners in gold and copper subsidiary Carmen Copper Corp.

Carmen Copper, which operates the 1,674-hectare Toledo mine in Cebu, was considered as Southeast Asia’s largest copper mine at its peak, a major economic backbone for Cebu for 50 years until a devastating typhoon and a metal price slump led to the mine’s closure in 1994. The site is estimated to contain about 1.5 billion tons of ore or about five million tons of copper.

Atlas plans to spend $200 million to jack up Carmen Copper’s output to 100,000 tons per day in three years from the current 42,000 tons.   At 100,000 tons daily, the operating life of the mine is estimated at 25 years.

Atlas earlier said it is aiming to raise $390 million through a four-phase share and convertible notes issue to fund its takeover of Carmen Copper. It plans to sell more than 700 million shares, about 33 percent of its fully diluted capital stock to buy 45.54 percent of Carmen Copper held by CASOP Atlas Corp. and CASOP Atlas BV.

The mining firm also intends to sell another block of 111.2 million shares to its shareholder Alakor Corp. for $50 million. Alakor, controlled by Alfredo Ramos, currently holds 21 percent of Atlas. 

Aside from these, Atlas will issue one- and five-year notes to SMIC unit Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. to raise $197.8 million. The notes will be convertible into 273.1 million Atlas shares.

Atlas stocks continue on a strong upward trend, closing at P23.20 Friday or 2.65 percent higher than its previous close of P22.60 each share.

Carmen Copper is a major revenue driver of Atlas. In the first quarter this year, Atlas posted a net income of P1.34 billion or more than a five-fold increase from the P233 million recorded in 2010.