Alsons seen spinning off mining subsidiary

PUBLICLY listed Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) of the Alcantara Group may spin off subsidiary ACR Mining Corp.

“Once it (ACR Mining) is distributed via property dividend we have the option to list it on the PSE (Philippine Stock Exchange) but we cannot give it a definite timetable,” ACR CFO Luis R. Ymson Jr. said in an interview.

ACR recently declared it would distribute ACR Mining shares as property dividends to the parent firm’s eligible shareholders.

The authorized capital for ACR Mining is P125 million and its paid in capital is P34.65 million. About 34.65 million will still be the paid in capital of ACR Mining but will be owned by ACR shareholders who received the property dividend.

Property dividends often indicate that the parent company is considering spinning off its affected subsidiary, said Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Finance Inc., in a phone interview.

On May 22, 2015, the board of directors of ACR confirmed that June 5 was the record date for the property dividend declared on March 27, 2015, but payment would be within 30 days after the corresponding Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR) from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) was obtained.

In April, ACR said its board approved the declaration of property dividends consisting of ACR Mining shares.

“Under the property dividend, shareholders of ACR as of the projected record date will receive shares in ACRMC,” the statement read. The company’s move to declare property dividend was “in line with our strategy of keeping ACR focused on power and energy,” according to Ymson.

ACR Mining has a joint venture with Austrilia’s Indophil Resources NL in the Manat mining project in Compostella Valley province. The project, which already has a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) and covers 1,547.32 hectares, is located in the Masara Mining District.

Having explored the area, Indophil was able to secure a JORC—compliant resource estimate of 2.7 millions tons containing 2.8 grams gold per ton of ore, 26 grams per ton silver, 0.85 percent lead and 1.58 percent zinc.