Beverage and food group San Miguel Corp., in a diversification mode, has reached agreement with British investment fund Ashmore Group that gives it an option to buy up to 50.1 percent of the oil refiner and retailer Petron Corp.

Ashmore earlier this year acquired 50.57 percent of Petron?40 percent bought from Saudi Aramco and 10.57 percent from minority stockholders that accepted its tender offer?and later exercised its preemptive rights on 40 percent being privatized by the government, effectively bringing its interest to 90.57 percent.

San Miguel said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday that its board had authorized management to sign the option agreement with Ashmore.

Philippine Daily Inquirer sources said San Miguel was finalizing its acquisition of a controlling stake in Petron at the price that Ashmore was paying to acquire the government?s 40 percent stake.

Ashmore reportedly paid P25.7 billion, or P6.85 a share, for the 40 percent of Petron held by state-owned Philippine National Oil Co.

?There is no premium? to be paid by San Miguel, company vice chairman and president Ramon Ang said in a text message to the Inquirer.

Analysts estimated that at P6.85 a share San Miguel would shell out P32 billion for a 50.1-percent stake.

Other sources said San Miguel was expected to build up its holdings to a majority over certain period.

As of end-June, San Miguel had cash assets of P105 billion.

Petron closed at P4.80 a share on Monday, up 10.3 percent from Friday?s close at P4.35.

San Miguel is also venturing into the telecommunications sector. In a separate disclosure, it said it would pursue a joint venture with Qatar Telecom to look into opportunities in broadband, mobile and mobile broadband businesses in the Philippines.

San Miguel said it believed that the Filipino consumer would be the ultimate beneficiary of its intended investments since customers would be given access to a reliable service provider offering affordable high-speed wireless broadband and communication solutions.

The Qatar-based company is an integrated telecommunications player operating GSM or WiMax services in 16 countries with a population coverage of 550 million and a subscriber base of 55 million. It is majority owned by the State of Qatar.

Qatar Telecom envisions itself to be among the top 20 telecom companies in the world. It recently completed acquisition of the second-biggest mobile operator in Indonesia for $1.8 billion. Through its Wi-Tribe brand, it has introduced high-speed broadband wireless (WiMax) services in a number of emerging markets. Edited by INQUIRER.net