Dennis Uy’s FamilyMart buyout ok’d

FAMILYMART branch in Fairview Terraces.

Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy has obtained imprimatur from the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to acquire the 67-store Philippine FamilyMart store chain through his petroleum trading and distribution arm Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc.

In a press statement late Thursday, the PCC said it had approved Phoenix Petroleum’s percent acquisition of Philippine FamilyMart CVS Inc. (PFM) or Philippine Family Mart.

Based on a decision made on January 3, the PCC’s Mergers and Acquisitions Office (MAO) found that the transaction “does not result in substantial lessening of competition in the relevant market.”

PCC noted that there’s no ability or incentive for the firms involved to engage in foreclosure after the acquisition. The antitrust commission also noted “sufficient competitive constraints from other players in the same market after the transaction.”

The country’s anti-trust body, PCC is mandated under the Philippine Competition Act to review sizeable mergers and acquisitions to ensure that these deals will not harm the interest of consumers.

To date, PCC has received 142 merger filings by local and international companies, worth a combined P2.171 trillion. Of the total number of filings, 38 involve global deals.

The Phoenix-Family Mart notification is the 119th transaction approved by the PCC.

The Ayala and Tantoco sold the five-year-old retailing business to Phoenix, a leading independent and the fastest-growing oil company in the Philippines, with a wide network of retail stations and commercial and industrial clients all over the Philippines.

Phoenix’ acquisition of Philippine FamilyMart is seen to complement its retail fuel business, which operates 518 stations nationwide.

The sale of the local FamilyMart chain signals a shakeout in the highly-competitive local convenience store business. In the last six years, new brands have entered the local market to challenge the two leading players 7-Eleven and Mini-Stop, respectively run by Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) and Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI). 7-Eleven has breached the 2,000-store network while Mini-Stop has at least 500 stores.

FamilyMart also competes with other convenience store brands like Lawson (Puregold group), Alfamart (SM group), All Day (Villar group) and Circle K.