Kuya J owners lead Pacifica takeover

Shares of Pacifica Inc. sizzled on the stock exchange on Monday as a new shareholder group led by the owners of local restaurant chain Kuya J took over the board and management control of the dormant mining firm.

Shares of Pacific surged by 31.58 percent to close at 1.2 centavos per share. It was the biggest advancer at the stock market.

Based on Monday’s close, the company was valued by the stock market at P1.52 billion.

On Monday, the company announced following its annual stockholders’ meeting that businessman Lowell Yu had been elected chair of Pacifica while Winglip Chang was elected president and chief executive officer during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting. Yu and Chang are the key persons behind fast-growing Filipino restaurant chain Kuya J.

Yu is also the businessman behind membership shopping chain Landers and the son of 8990 Holdings key shareholder Luis Yu Jr.  Chang is the restaurant expert in this partnership.

Last week, Yu’s Cebu-based company Unido Capital Holdings Inc. launched a tender offer to other shareholders of Pacifica at a price per share of P0.007. Unido is willing to acquire 14.33 billion common shares of Pacifica comprising the 35.83 percent currently held by the public. The tender offer will run until noon-time of Feb. 3 this year.

Prior to the tender offer, Unido signed a deal to acquire 36.52 percent of Pacifica’s outstanding capital stock from 9th Kingdom Investments Corp. and Mikro-Tech Capital Inc. Combined with the existing shareholders of affiliate iHoldings Inc., Yu’s group will end up with 64.17-percent control of Pacifica.

Biz Buzz reported that the group had acquired the dormant firm possibly for the backdoor-listing of Kuya J, which is contemplating a public offering once its network hits the critical mass of 100 restaurants.  The restaurant chain has 60 stores at present.

Pacifica said “no definitive plans” regarding a reverse takeover or backdoor listing involving Pacifica and/or Kuya J had been arrived at.

Based on a tender offer report to the Philippine Stock Exchange last week, one option being considered by Unido is to “use Pacifica for a reverse take-over by an existing ongoing business concern which may contribute to the revenue growth of the company.”

A reverse takeover refers to the acquisition of a publicly listed company by a smaller company, which is then merged with the listed shell company.  This is a way for a privately held company to have access to the capital market using a much easier route than listing on an exchange for the first time.