Alsons Cement, Holderfin agree on debt-to-equity deal

Mindanao-based Alsons Cement Corp. and Holderfin B.V., the holding company of Holderbank Financiers Glaris Ltd., will be exercising a debt-to-equity conversion that will involve about P3.53 billion of the former’s debt load.

Alsons wrote the Philippine Stock Exchange that its board of directors approved in a special meeting the conversion to equity of a portion of the loans obtained from Holderfin through the issuance of shares to Holderfin’s assignee, Cemco Holdings Inc.

Cemco Holdings already owns a substantial 49-percent stake in the cement firm, with the rest owned by the Alcantara family and the public.

As of end-November 2001, Alsons loan from Holderfin amounted to $71.638 million out of which $68.61 million will be converted into equity involving 3.53 billion common shares.

The conversion is priced at par or P1 per share, using an exchange rate of P51.45 to $1 or a total peso equivalent of P3.53 billion.

Holderfin is the holding company of Holderbank, the world’s largest producer of cement products. With its additional exposure in Alsons Cement, Holderfin will be consolidating its resources to better prepare for increasing competition from other global cement giants such as Blue Circle, Lafarge and Cemex that have also penetrated and heightened their presence in the Philippines over the past few years. – Conrado Diaz Jr.