MG buys Cebu seafood firm

MANILA, Philippines–Holding firm Millennium Global Holdings Inc. (MG)—formerly information technology firm IPVG Corp.—is taking in a new investor and acquiring a Cebu-based seafood exporter.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, MG said it had obtained board approval to enter into an investment agreement with Chen Chih-Hsing, a Chinese national who is the president of U Hung Trading Co. Ltd which is, in turn, engaged in seafood importation and processing.

This new investor will infuse P15 million into the company payable in three years and convertible into equity at the option of the investor.

The board of MG also approved the acquisition of Cebu Canning Corp. (C3) through a combined acquisition of primary and secondary shares, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.

C3, a domestic corporation incorporated in 2008, is a family-owned and operated seafood company located at Tresco Compound, Casuntingan, Mandaue City, Cebu. It is primarily engaged in the business of processing pasteurized canned crabmeat commonly known as blue swimming crab. It exports high-quality canned seafood particularly to the US.

Its clients include Sigma International Inc., Bonamar Corp., Blue Star, Handy International and Harbor Seafood, a US-based company operating since 1975.

MG, incorporated in 1964, was previously involved in IT and business process outsourcing initiatives. Its former subsidiaries included IT firm IP Converge Data Center Inc. and IP E-Game Ventures Inc., which are into online computer games business and payment solutions.

In 2011, shareholders of MG approved a new corporate restructuring plan and sold all assets and liabilities to a new private company, IP Ventures Inc. (IPVI), thus spinning off the IT businesses to a privately held company with the same shareholders.

At the end of 2013, the company’s stockholders approved the acquisition of various businesses and operating companies, including a 51-percent controlling interest in Millennium Ocean Star Corp., which is majority-owned by the company’s chair and president Yang Chi Jen.