Macay set to hold stock rights offer

Macay Holdings Inc. plans to raise fresh capital for its expansion program by selling new shares to its existing shareholders.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Thursday, Macay said its board had approved the plan to offer to all shareholders the rights to subscribe to common shares of stock to be issued from the company’s unissued capital stock, subject to registration or exemption requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The company of businessman Alfredo Yao has yet to finalize how much it intends to raise from this capital-raising activity.

Formerly a shell company of Maybank ATR Kim Eng Financial Corp. (MAKE), Macay incorporated ARC Refreshments Corp. in 2013 to engage in the business of trading goods, such as beverages, on a wholesale basis. ARC Refreshments in turn acquired all the operating units of Asiawide Refreshment Corp. and Mega Asia Bottling Corp.

Asiawide holds an exclusive license from RC Cola USA to manufacture and distribute RC Cola in the Philippines, while Mega Asia operates the RC Cola bottling and manufacturing operations in the Philippines. The company is based in Caloocan, and maintains facilities in Pampanga and Davao.

It was earlier disclosed that Macay would also acquire 100 percent of ARC Holdings. By acquiring ARC Holdings, the affiliate company holding the franchise of RC Cola in the Philippines and other parts in Southeast Asia, Macay will have fully consolidate all the licensing, trademark and related rights on the RC Cola brand.

ARC Holdings is a separate entity under Yao’s group, which holds the trademark licenses of Royal Crown Cola which, in turn, owns the rights to RC Cola in the Philippines.

At present, the group operates nine RC Cola bottling plants in the country. As the group is the biggest bottler of RC Cola in the region, Royal Crown Cola of the United States has expressed interest in giving the group “anchor bottler” status in Southeast Asia.

In the carbonated beverage segment, RC Cola’s estimated market share in Metro Manila is 20-24 percent. The company also estimates that it has yet to penetrate 25-30 percent of the market nationwide.  Doris C. Dumlao