Puregold buying S&R for P16.5B

MANILA, Philippines—Retailer Puregold Price Club has agreed to buy 100 percent of upscale retailer S&R Membership Shopping for P16.5 billion via a share swap with the family of Lucio Co, which also controls the former.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Puregold said its board had approved the issuance of about 766.41 million common shares from the corporation’s authorized but unissued capital stock at P21.50.

This means that Puregold will acquire 100 percent of the outstanding capital of Kareila Management Corp. at a ratio of 450 Puregold shares for every single share of Kareila.

This transaction shall be submitted for approval by Puregold’s stockholders at their annual meeting on  May 8.

This deal will allow Co to consolidate his retailing businesses into a publicly listed vehicle catering to all market segments. The planned infusion of S&R into Puregold will diversify the latter’s market base and potentially harness the power of increasing consumer affluence in the Philippines.

S&R caters to the upscale segment while Puregold caters to the lower-income but more populous market segment.

Puregold has over 100 stores while S&R operates six membership stores serving the AB market, located at Fort Bonifacio, Alabang, Diosdado Macapagal Highway, Quezon City, San Fernando (Pampanga) and Cebu.

Meanwhile, Puregold has agreed to allocate up to 10 percent of its unrestricted retained earnings of the previous year for dividends, cash or stock, after taking into account various factors, including the level of cash earnings, return on equity and retained earnings.

Puregold debuted on the Philippine Stock Exchange on October 5 last year at P12.50 per share. As of Monday, its share price rose by 72 percent to P21.50, giving it a market capitalization of P43.6 billion.