The group of businessman Reghis Romero II has completed its takeover of a dormant listed firm owned by President Aquino’s cousin, Antonio “Tonyboy” Cojuangco.
Sultan 900 Capital Inc., an investment company owned by Romero’s son, Michael, acquired a 95.2-percent stake in MIC Holdings Corp. from the Cojuangco group for P175 million or about P339 per share. This was a premium of 3.39 times over the par value of each stock.
The Romero group plans to use MIC as a vehicle to have its port development assets listed to attract new investors.
Right after the deal was completed, a special board of directors’ meeting was held, where the younger Romero, Richard Barclay and Deo Olvina were named new directors of MIC Holdings.
The younger Romero was also elected president and chair of the listed firm.
“The cross of shares was done after the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and the PSE (Philippine Stock Exchange) approved the transaction,” Sultan said in a statement sent to reporters on Friday.
The Romero group, through unit Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc., operates a 79-hectare cargo sea port at the Manila Harbour Centre in Manila’s port district.
Romero-led Manila North Harbour Port Inc. (MNHPI) also recently took over the Manila North Harbor in Tondo. MNHPI aims to transform the country’s largest but most inefficient domestic cargo and passenger terminal into a world-class facility.
The Romeros’ partner in North Harbor is conglomerate San Miguel Corp., which plans to put up a grains terminal and fuel depot at the facility.
San Miguel replaced infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp., led by Manuel V. Pangilinan, which divested from the North Harbor project after failing to secure a controlling stake in the venture.
The Romero group has expressed interest in expanding its port operations locally and overseas. It also announced last year plans to hold an initial public offering (IPO), but the company dropped this plan due to the volatile market conditions at the time.