Puregold buys 49.34% stake in supermart chain

LUCIO CO’S supermarket chain Puregold Price Club Inc. has acquired a minority stake in San Roque Supermarkets, which operates a chain of nine stores in Metro Manila, a stock exchange filing Friday showed.

Puregold, which completed the deal through wholly owned subsidiary Entenso Equities Inc., said it acquired a 49.34-percent stake in the company. No financial details were disclosed in the transaction.

The deal would help expand Puregold’s presence in a broader market segment, a company spokesperson said. San Roque Supermarkets operates mainly in Malabon, Navotas, Caloocan and Tondo.

Puregold also has an option in the future to further increase its interest in San Roque Supermarkets to a possible controlling stake, the spokesperson said.

Puregold shares dipped 2.64 percent to P40.50 each at the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday.

Acquisitions have been a key part of the company’s growth. It said last month that profit during the nine months through September hit P2.64 billion, up 46.5 percent, partly due to its higher store count. Net sales during that period reached P51.5 billion, up 32 percent from a year ago.

The company expects to end the year with more than 200 stores, president Leonardo Dayao said previously. Dayao had noted that Puregold was keen on acquiring more companies to boost its store network.

It has also embarked on joint-venture agreements, announcing in July that it teamed up with Ayala Land Inc. to operate a new brand of mid-market supermarket chain to complement Ayala’s integrated and mixed-use developments. Miguel R. Camus