Lucio Tan group hikes stake in Victorias to 23.5%

Taipan Lucio Tan’s LT Group Inc. has increased its stake in the country’s biggest sugar miller as other business groups also remain on the lookout for acquisitions in this sector.

LT Group said in a stock exchange filing Friday that it acquired an additional 63.16 million shares of Victorias Milling Co. Inc. from state-run Development Bank of the Philippines, increasing its ownership in the company to about 23.5 percent. The figure included convertible notes, LT Group said.

The shares were acquired at P5.32 each, a 14.4-percent premium over its closing price the day before. Victorias Milling rose 4.09 percent to P4.84 a share Friday.

LT Group’s current stake was much larger than a previous announcement in April, when it had increased its stake in Victorias Milling to 14.8 percent from 7.4 percent.

The purchase comes as rival groups like Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, are seeking to increase their exposure in the country’s agribusiness sector, including sugar. First Pacific, through Metro Pacific Holdings Inc., last May disclosed that its stake stood at 7.485 percent of Victorias from a previous 5.79 percent.

First Pacific also acquired 34 percent of Roxas Holdings Inc. and its entry into the Philippine agricultural scene was seen to complement its regional food business. First Pacific, a major shareholder of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Manila Electric Co. in the Philippines, owns PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk, one of the biggest food companies in Indonesia.

It is also set to fully acquire Goodman Fielder Ltd., an Australian supermarket food supplier behind the brands Meadow Lea and Vogel’s, together with Wilmar International. Pangilinan had said during a previous interview that he was keen on increasing his stake in the two sugar companies, if other shareholders were willing to sell.

The previous month, Central Azucarera de Tarlac Inc. was acquired by buyers including businessman Martin Lorenzo, who previously owned Pancake House Inc. before it was sold to the Max’s group this year. Apart from sugar, LT Group’s core investments are in tobacco, liquor, beer, banking and property development.

Victorias Milling, whose operations are based in Negros Occidental, said profit for the nine months ending May 31 this year hit P947.74 million, up 53 percent. It said revenues during the period hit P4.26 billion, up 47 percent compared to the same period last year.