Eagle Cement Corp.., a cement manufacturer controlled by the family of businessman Ramon Ang, is acquiring 100 percent of Solid North Mineral Corp., a quarrying and mining company also controlled by Ang, through a share swap agreement for P3.57 billion.
Eagle Cement said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the acquisition was a strategic move to ensure sustainable supply of raw materials for cement operations.
SNMC is owned by Eagle Cement’s parent company, Far East Holdings Inc. (34.51 percent), and Eagle Cement chairman Ramon Ang (65.49 percent). It is primarily engaged in mining of metallic and non-metallic resources, exploration, quarrying activities and processing of limestone.
SNMC is a holder of a mineral production sharing agreement issued by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau. It has a limestone pulverizing plant in Barangay Akle, San Ildefonso, Bulacan.
The MPSA and the limestone pulverizing plant are adjacent to Eagle Cement’s cement production facility in Bulacan.
Eagle Cement said the acquisition cost of SNMC would be less than 10 percent of the corporation’s book value. It represents 7.19 percent of its total assets of P49.66 billion based on 2020 audited financial statements.
The cement firm hired BPI Capital Corp. as the independent valuation firm to conduct the valuation services and the preparation of an independent valuation report on the subject asset with respect to the proposed transaction.
Eagle Cement has a cement production facility also located in Barangay Akle, San Ildefonso.
Meanwhile, the board Eagle Cement approved the declaration of cash dividends in the amount of P0.33 per common share. The dividend will be paid out of the unrestricted earnings of the end December 2020.
Shareholders of record as of Oct. 7, 2021 will be entitled to the dividends. The payment will be made on Oct. 22, 2021.
Eagle Cement is the fourth largest player in the local cement industry based on sales volume. It posted a net income of P3.69 billion in the first half, up 181 percent from P1.31 billion posted in the same period last year as revenues jumped 87 percent to P11 billion
The construction and real estate sectors posted a rebound this year after the government reopened the economy to allow workers to return to work.
San Miguel Corp.’s infrastruct1ure projects, such as the Metro Rail Transit Line 7, Skyway Extension projects and the new international airport in Bulacan and the upcoming Pasig River Expressway, are among the largest buyers of cement in the country. Ang is the president and chief operating officer of San Miguel.
The share price of Eagle Cement rose 0.6 percent Friday to P14.56.