Ramon Ang to pay 120% premium for more shares in SMC parent

Ramon Ang —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA  -Billionaire and San Miguel Corp. (SMC) president Ramon Ang will complete a P10.9-billion investment in listed Top Frontier Investment Holdings Inc., the parent firm of the conglomerate, by the end of the month.

Announced in early June, the deal with strengthen Ang’s position as the second-biggest shareholder of SMC after tycoon Iñigo Zobel.

It was previously announced that Ang’s private investment firm Far East Holdings Inc. will acquire 45 million newly issued shares of Top Frontier at P241.42 each.

This will raise Ang’s stake in the company, which owns about 60 percent of SMC, to almost 35 percent. Zobel will own 52.82 percent of Top Frontier after the new shares are issued.

Top Frontier said in a stock exchange filing on Friday that Far East Holdings will fully pay for the shares in cash on or before June 30 this year.

The deal will then be ratified by Top Frontier shareholders during its annual stockholders’ meeting on Aug. 3 this year, the filing showed.

Ang is buying the shares at a roughly 120-percent premium over its share price before the deal was announced last June 2.

Top Frontier shares rose 2.52 percent to P130 each on Friday, valuing the company at P43.28 billion.

The investment price was based on the midpoint valuation range that was determined by third-party firm FTI Consulting. The low-end price was P196.14 while the high-end was at P286.70 per share.

Ang and his son, John Paul, are directors of both SMC and Top Frontier. They did not participate in the deliberation and voting on the transaction, Top Frontier said in the stock exchange filing.

“The company intends to use the proceeds from the subscription for general corporate purposes, including the payment of its financial obligations and distributions, as may be determined from time to time by management of the company,” Top Frontier said in the filing.

“The foregoing represents a best estimate of the use of the proceeds based on the company’s current plans and expenditures. The actual amount and timing of disbursement will depend on various factors including, the demands of the company’s business, changing market conditions or new information regarding the cost or feasibility of the company’s business plan,” it added.

SMC is one of the country’s biggest companies with interests spanning food, beverage, energy and infrastructure.

Its net income during the first quarter of 2023 climbed 27 percent to P17.7 billion while revenues rose 9 percent to P346.7 billion. INQ

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