Royal Friesland completes Alaska tender offer

MANILA, Philippines - Dutch dairy giant Royal Friesland has completed the tender offer for all shares held by minority shareholders in Alaska Milk Manufacturing Corp., raising its ownership in the local milk firm to 97.7 percent.

The completion of the tender offer paves the way for the delisting of Alaska from the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Based on a disclosure to the stock exchange yesterday, Royal Friesland acquired nearly 93 percent of the Alaska shares traded on the bourse at P24 apiece. These shares included the 60.8-percent interest acquired in March this year from the Uytengsu family for P12.86 billion and the eight- percent stake that the Dutch firm already held.

“After complying with all formalities and regulations, Alaska is likely to be delisted from the Philippine Stock Exchange in the near future,” Alaska said.

The Uytengsu family has given up control of Alaska, the country’s leading milk maker for more than 30 years, to prepare it for its next stage of growth. It is looking to venture into foreign waters, with particular focus on Southeast Asia to capitalize on the growing demand for nutritious products.

Tthe global dairy market offers strong growth prospects in the next five years with emerging markets like China, India and Southeast Asia filling the ranks of the fastest-growing consumption regions with a combined share of 82 percent.

Royal Friesland has presence in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, India, Hong Kong and Singapore. It also produces and sells dairy products in the Middle East and Africa.