Holcim Philippines to delist voluntarily from PSE

MANILA, Philippines — Holcim Philippines Inc. will voluntarily delist from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) after major shareholder Holderfin B.V.  acquired additional Holcim shares from Sumitomo Osaka Cement.

The acquisition would result in the company’s public float falling to 5.05 percent or below the required 10 percent minimum percentage for listed firms. Holcim’s public ownership as of end-March was at 14.27 percent.

In a regulatory filing yesterday, Holcim said it received a notice from Holderfin that it purchased from Sumitomo Osaka some 594.9 million common shares, representing 9.22 percent of the company’s outstanding capital stock.

The acquisition, done via a regular block sale, was closed yesterday.

Holderfin’s total shareholdings have increased to 27.33 percent from 18.11 percent of the company’s outstanding capital.

With Holderfin being a major shareholder and the Sumitomo shares currently attributed to shares held by the public, the acquisition will result in the company’s public float decreasing to 5.05 percent of the company’s outstanding common shares, Holcim said in a disclosure to the PSE.

Holderfin said it would not be able to issue additional shares to the public that would be sufficient to raise its public float to the required level.

Thus, Holderfin is prepared to make a tender offer for all outstanding common shares of the company held by the public with the aim of subsequently conducting a voluntary delisting of the company’s common shares from the main board of the PSE, Holcim said.

Under the PSE’s amended voluntary delisting rules, the voluntary delisting must be approved by at least two-thirds of the entire membership of the board of directors and stockholders owning at least two-thirds of the total outstanding and listed shares of the listed company.

Furthermore, the number of votes cast against the delisting proposal should not be more than 10 percent of the total outstanding and listed shares of the listed company.

Holcim said it is diligently working to pursue the specific requirements set forth by the PSE for a voluntary delisting as it will not be able to raise the required minimum public ownership due to prevailing market conditions.

Early this year, Ang family-owned Eagle Cement also delisted from the PSE.