Tony King family sells 70% stake in AG Finance

MANILA, Philippines–The owners of AG Finance Inc. are exiting the company they listed two years ago, days after announcing that its original microfinance business would be modified to include mining and smelting.

AG Finance said in a stock exchange filing Wednesday its controlling shareholders, chair Tony King and his family, had agreed to sell their 70-percent stake to RYM Business Management Corp. No other details were provided.

AG Finance fell 9.55 percent to P7.10 a share on Wednesday after posting sharp gains since the beginning of March this year.

“We understand that the agreement is subject to closing conditions customary for share sale transactions, including the conduct of a tender offer to minority stockholders by the buyer,” AG Finance said in its filing.

The move comes days after AG Finance announced that it had approved the change in its primary purpose from leasing and finance to that of a holding company. The company also approved to amend its secondary purpose to include “mining and smelting operations.”

AG Finance in 2013 raised about P150 million in an IPO. The company provides microfinance and consumer loans mainly for overseas Filipinos.

Part of the proceeds funded the company’s professional and skilled overseas Filipino worker loan portfolio expansion program. A portion was also used to repay outstanding loans with China Bank amounting to P37 million.

The microfinance firm of Tony King was established in 2011 to provide short-term, unsecured credit facilities to permanent rank-and-file employees of reputable medium-sized companies in the Philippines.

In 2003, AG Finance expanded its market coverage to include professionals and skilled workers in North America and the Middle East.