‘Cemex will remain a listed company’

MANILA, Philippines — The Consunji Group has no intention to delist cement maker Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. (CHP) in the Philippine Stock Exchange following its $305.6 million acquisition.

Tycoon Isidro Consunji told The STAR that they plan to “keep Cemex listed.”

Last week, the Consunji Group’s DMCI Holdings Inc., Dacon Corp. and Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) announced the signing of a share purchase agreement with CEMEX Asia B.V. to acquire its entire holding of 42.14 million common shares in Cemex Asian South East Corp. (CASEC).

CASEC is the majority owner of CHP with 89.86 percent equity interest.

DMCI will acquire a 56.75-percent stake in CASEC, while Dacon will secure 32.12 percent and SMPC will purchase the remaining 11.13 percent.

As a result of the transaction, the purchasers are required to conduct a mandatory tender offer of the shares of CHP held by its minority shareholders who hold 10.14 percent of the total issued and outstanding capital stock of CHP. 

Dacon has been designated as the bidder in the mandatory tender offer. 

China Bank Capital Corp. managing director Juan Paolo Colet said a potential delisting would depend on the result of the mandatory tender offer. 

“Since the current public float is already quite low being just slightly above the minimum requirement of 10 percent, the prospect of delisting is quite significant,” Colet told The STAR. 

“Many shareholders might seriously consider tendering their shares to avoid the risk of getting stuck,” he said.

Consunji earlier said cement manufacturing is a good and strategic addition to the group’s business portfolio. 

SMPC, for its part, said the acquisition of CASEC will enable the company to access a new market for its fly ash and power capacity, as well as boost its coal sales to the fourth largest cement manufacturer in the Philippines.

The Consunji Group has a diversified investment consisting of construction, real estate, coal and nickel mining, power generation and water distribution.

CHP, meanwhile, produces and markets cement and other building materials in the Philippines.

Its Island and Rizal cement product brands are sold in Luzon, while the APO brand is sold in Visayas and Mindanao.