Gokongwei, Razon, Po take over AB Capital Group

MANILA, Philippines — A group comprising some of the country’s tycoons, including Lance Gokongwei, Enrique Razon and Christopher Po, has taken over local investment house AB Capital Group.

AB Capital Group is now under the control and management of The Campden Hill Group, a privately held holding company, while its former majority owner, the Gaisano-led Viscal Investment Inc. remains a minority shareholder and partner.

The new board of directors of AB Capital & Investment Corp. are chairman Antonio Jose Periquet and directors Frank Gaisano, Lance Gokongwei, Christoper Po, Enrique Razon, Lamberto Santos and Michael Zalamea.

AB Capital Securities Inc., meanwhile, has Zalamea as chairman while its directors are Luis Miguel Aboitiz, Juan Kevin Belmonte, Lamberto Santos Jr., Ma. Elena Morris, Mariana Ongpin and Ericson Wee.

“Please be assured that all operations will continue uninterrupted. In the meantime, stay tuned for a new, sharper and more rewarding experience,” AB Capital Group said in its announcement.

The AB Capital Group is one of the Philippines’ leading financial services institutions focused on the capital markets.

AB Capital & Investment Corp. is an investment house that has built its capability on three major areas of strength: corporate finance, fixed-income securities dealership and fund management.

AB Capital Securities Inc. is one of the oldest stock brokerage houses in the Philippine Stock Exchange.

According to its profile, the history of the AB Capital Group began more than 30 years ago with the establishment of Anscor Finance Inc., a financing and leasing company of the A. Soriano Group.

In 2011, the Vicsal/Metro Gaisano Group of Companies acquired a 95 percent stake in AB Capital and Investment Corp. as part of the former’s expansion in the financial services business.