Century investing in tin can factory

MANILA, Philippines—Century Pacific Food Inc., a leading food manufacturer, is investing P457.6-million in a tin can factory near its fish processing plant in General Santos City to reduce packaging costs and brace for further growth through acquisitions and product diversification.

In a briefing on Friday on the company’s initial public offering, Century Pacific president Christopher Po said that as part of new growth areas, the company was entering the beverage business through the local distribution of a US-branded coconut water drink.

Net proceeds from the IPO, which will run from April 23 to 29, are estimated to amount to P3 billion, about P1 billion of which will be for working capital and potential acquisitions.

Po said Century Pacific, whose last acquisition was the Swift-branded meat business of RFM, was looking at further potential acquisitions but nothing definitive has been set so far.

In its prospectus, the company noted its strong track record of expanding product offerings through successful acquisitions of strong but undervalued local brands. “The company remains open to similar opportunistic brand acquisitions, including entering into new segments and unlocking market potentials of regional brands. The company likewise expects to use a portion of the net proceeds from the (IPO) for the potential acquisition of new brands and/or branded food companies to penetrate new market segments,” the prospectus said.

Based on the prospectus, another P1.29 billion of IPO proceeds will be used to retire financial obligations, while P729 million will be used to increase production capacity and cost-efficiency, including the building of a tin can manufacturing factory, which is expected to be completed by the third quarter of this year.—Doris C. Dumlao