Listed sugar and ethanol producer Roxas Holdings Inc. said Thursday it completed the sale of its sugar mill and ethanol facility in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental to Universal Robina Corp. for P4.9 billion.
RHI and URC announced in separate disclosures to the stock exchange the completion of the asset sale on Sept. 30, following the signing and delivery of the definitive sale agreements and performance of all conditions necessary for the closing of the transaction.
Under the agreement, URC will acquire buildings, improvements, machineries and equipment, laboratory equipment, and parcels of land on which these plants, buildings and equipment are located and certain investment properties of RHI that are necessary for the operations of the sugar milling plant in Negros Occidental.
The acquisition will boost URC’s sugar milling capacity. URC’s sugar division operates five mills and three refineries across the Philippines, with a combined milling capacity of 31,000 tons of sugar cane and produces 33,000 bags of refined sugar a day.
RHI said the proceeds from the asset sale would be used to pare down debt. RHI said it would focus its resources on developing and expanding its sugar milling facility in Batangas.
“With this development, RHI will be able to focus its resources on Central Azucarera Don Pedro, Inc. to meet the discerning sugar requirements of our clients and boost the operations of our ethanol facility, San Carlos Bioenergy Inc.,” RHI chairman Pedro Roxas said.
“We aspire to shape CADPI’s Refinery, strategically situated in Batangas, into a facility with world-class operations that can cater to a larger market,” Roxas said. Jenniffer B. Austria
RHI president and chief executive Hubert Tubio said the strategic location of CADPI brings it closer to industrial users, mainly food manufacturing companies and beverage producers.
“We hope to make CADPI ready and poised to seize opportunities with the expected increase in refined sugar consumption while helping the government minimize the importation of refined sugar,” Tubio said.