PSE approves tuna firm’s P272-M rights offering

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange has approved a P272-million stock rights offering by Alliance Select Foods International Inc., which is raising fresh equity to acquire Massachusetts-based salmon smoking and curing firm Spence & Co. Ltd.

The offering of 272.27 million shares to existing shareholders is priced at P1 per share, equivalent to a 33.25 percent discount to the volume-weighted average price of Alliance’s common shares for the 15-day trading period ending June 8.

Each eligible shareholder has the right to buy one share for every 2.2 common shares held as of record date. The offering will start on July 4 and end on July 7, based on the offering circular.

Abacus Capital & Investment Corp. is the issue manager and underwriter for this offering.

Alliance recently entered into a deal to acquire 100 percent of Spence & Co. Ltd. for $8.5 million, a deal seen transforming the local firm into a regional salmon processing giant. This will be Alliance’s third smoked salmon venture, which is also seen helping the Filipino firm make inroads into the lucrative US seafood market.

Spence, which was founded in Brockton, MA in 1990, specializes in the production of smoked salmon and seafood in the Scottish tradition of its founder Alan Spence. It caters to the high-end consumer market in the United States.

Formerly known as Alliance Tuna International, Alliance started commercial operations in 2004 to engage in tuna processing, canning, and export of canned tuna products in General Santos City in Mindanao.

The company, founded by Filipino-Chinese businessman Jonathan Dee, exports to Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and South America as a “private label manufacturer” of canned tuna and processes and tuna cans using its customers’ brands.