Leviste becomes largest shareholder of Roxas and Co

MANILA, Philippines — Solar energy trailblazer Leandro Leviste has acquired shares in listed Roxas and Co. Inc. (RCI), making him its largest individual shareholder with shares equivalent to 7.55 percent of the company.

Leviste disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission his purchase of 188.89 million shares of RCI which have a market value of P425 million based on RCI’s share price of P2.25 as of March 19.

RCI previously operated the 97-year-old Central Azucarera Don Pedro sugar mill in Nasugbu, Batangas, which announced the closure of its business operations effective Feb. 28, 2024 and the termination of all its affected employees on March 29, 2024.

The closure has been said to result in the loss of livelihood for over 13,000 farmers and sugar mill workers.

Separately, an estimated 50,000 farmers in Nasugbu are protesting a recent Department of Agrarian Reform order concerning over 2,941 hectares across RCI’s Hacienda Palico, Hacienda Banilad and Hacienda Caylaway.

The order awards 1,322 hectares to the agrarian reform beneficiaries and recognizes RCI’s rights to the remaining 1,619 hectares.

Farmer groups have filed a motion for reconsideration and a petition for revocation on the DAR order and have also called for a more equitable settlement over RCI’s three haciendas.

Meanwhile, Leviste’s Countryside Investments Holdings Corp. last week announced a plan to invest P5 billion to help boost development of rural Batangas.

Countryside said the investments are focused on sectors that promise high-impact benefits for the local economy, including energy, industrial and commercial projects.

The company committed to make investments that would contribute to ushering in a new era of sustainable development and shared prosperity for communities in Batangas.