Alaska shares to delist Oct 29

MANILA, Philippines - Shares of Alaska Milk Corp. will no longer be traded on the Philippine Stock Exchange effective Oct. 29 this year.

In a memorandum circular, the PSE said its board approved Wednesday Alaska’s petition for voluntary delisting.  The shares of the milk firm shall be removed from the registry of the exchange effective Nov. 5, the local bourse said.

The stock was last traded Thursday, closing 1.17 percent higher at P17.20 compared with its previous close of P17.

The delisting request was filed following the completion of the tender offer made by Dutch dairy giant Royal Friesland Campina (RFC), the new controlling stockholder, for all of the issued and outstanding shares of Alaska.

A total of 3.33 million common shares of the outstanding capital of Alaska, representing 0.38 percent, were tendered by shareholders and accepted by RFC at P24 each.

With the completion of the tender offer, RFC now owns a total of 874.13 million common shares or about 98.69 percent of Alaska.

RFC acquired last June the Uytengsu family’s 60.8-percent stake in Alaska at P24 per share or a total of P12.86 billion, triggering the mandatory tender offer requirements.

Under the tender offer rule, any individual or group who acquires at least 35-percent stake in a listed company within the span of a year must offer to buy out other shareholders at the same price agreed upon with the block seller.

Earlier this year, Alaska said there was no longer a need for the company to remain publicly listed given its net capital position.

Alaska has been the leading player in the Philippine milk industry for more than 30 years. It has also recently expanded into higher value-added milk products, particularly in the ready-to-drink milk category.

RFC, on the other hand, produces a portfolio of dairy products ranging from raw material ingredients to higher value-added products such as infant formula, cheese, butter and yoghurts.  It has presence in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, India, Hong Kong and Singapore.