Udenna Development Corp., a company led by businessman Dennis Uy, priced the acquisition of listed Philippine H20 Ventures Corp. at P2.17 per share.
The price represents a 68-percent discount to the stock’s closing of P6.80 per share Monday, when the deal was announced. Share price of H2O tumbled 16.8 percent Thursday to P6.20.
“The purchase price is approximately P2.17 per share, but is subject to further adjustments,” Udenna Corp., the parent company of Udevco, said in a statement.
H20 reported Monday that major shareholders led by Jolliville Holdings Inc. of businessman Jolly Ting had agreed to sell their combined 62-percent interest in the company to Udevco for P327.7 million.
Udenna said the group “is a dynamic family of corporations engaged in multiple industries, and is always looking for strategic opportunities to expand its businesses and leverage on the synergies between its various companies”.
“Accordingly, corporations such as H2O may be considered for acquisition to serve the corporate needs of the Udenna Group,” Udenna said.
Udenna said while the parties already signed a memorandum of agreement, the transaction had not yet been consummated as H2O still needed to undergo a clean-up exercise of all of its assets and the parties needed to thresh out the legal and regulatory requirements for the transaction.
Udevco plans to launch a mandatory tender offer for the remaining H2O shares held by minority investors pursuant to the Securities Regulation Code.
“The Udenna Group of Companies adheres to highest levels of corporate governance and transparency in our dealings with our stakeholders,” said Adel Tamano, vice-president for corporate affairs at Udenna Corp.
Udenna is comprised by a dynamic group of companies engaged in diverse businesses including petroleum and oil (Phoenix Petroleum), shipping and logistics (Chelsea Logistics and 2GO), real estate and property development (Udevco), education (Enderun) and convenience stores (Family Mart).
Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. and Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. are listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange.
