F&S Holdings Inc., owned by businessman and 1-PACMAN Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero and his wife Sheila, sold its majority 60-percent stake in AirAsia Philippines to Asian aviation company AA Com Travel Philippines Inc. to focus on power and ports.
“We are excited at the opportunity to consolidate our business enterprises and realign them to focus more on our core businesses in power and ports,” said Sheila Romero, chairman of F&S Holdings.
She did not provide additional details on the transaction, including cost and terms, because of confidentiality agreement.
“Needless to say, we did not want to undertake this while the pandemic was ongoing, and nearly every business―particularly air travel―was severely hampered. That would not embody the kind of relationship we had with our partners,” she said.
AA Com Travel acquired the shares of F&S Holdings for an undisclosed amount, making it the sole local owner and majority shareholderof the country’s third-largest airline.
Capital A Bhd founders Tony Fernandez and Datuk Karmarudin Menarum control the remaining 40 percent of AirAsia Philippines.
“We wish nothing but the best to our former partner in AirAsia Philippines as well as to AA Com Travel Philippines. May they continue to fly high and reach new heights,” Shiela Romero said.
The budget airline earlier saw passenger volume increase 382 percent to 4.21 million in 2022 from 875,927 passengers in 2021. Its load factor rose to 89 percent from 80 percent.
AirAsia Philippines operates daily flights from Manila to Bacolod, Cebu, Cagayan, Davao, Iloilo, Kalibo, Caticlan (Boracay), Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Tagbilaran and Zamboanga. Other interisland destinations flying out of AirAsia’s Cebu hub include Cagayan, Davao, Caticlan, Puerto Princesa and Clark.
Its active international destinations include Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Bangkok, Singapore, Taipei, Osaka, Incheon, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Bali.
Meanwhile, CapitalOne Energy Corp. will be the holding company to integrate the Romero Group’s power generation companies.
These include investments in the renewable energy sector through Alterpower Digos Solar Inc., a 40-megawatt solar power plant operating in Digos, Davao del Sur and Fort Pilar Energy, which operates 100-MW battery energy storage system power plants in Zamboanga Del Sur, according to CapitalOne Energy chairman lawyer Joseph Omar Castillo.
“The group likewise includes the Belgrove Power Corp., which owns the 650-MW Malaya Thermal Power Plant, a must-run unit of the Department of Energy,” Castillo said.
CapitalOne Energy is expanding its solar power portfolio with the development of new sites in Cagayan, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Marinduque and Palawan.
Castillo said these new sites would have a combined capacity of 180 MW.
“To CapitalOne Energy Corp., may our future endeavors help power up the economy, and energize more communities in the Philippines,” Romero said.
She said CapitalOne “will continue to invest aggressively in our family’s core businesses in Globalport terminals, which now operates ten ports in the country and power businesses.”
