Republic Cement ups capital to P8-B

Republic Cement Corp. will raise its authorized capital stock from P5 billion to P8 billion to facilitate the issuance of shares to Southeast Asia Cement Holdings Inc. (Seacem).

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Republic Cement said Seacem will subscribe to 1.55 billion common shares in

exchange for 19.96 million common shares in FR Cement Corp. and 10 million common shares in Lloyds Richfield Industrial Corp.

The new capitalization will consist of eight billion common shares with a par value of P1 per share and 215 million preferred shares with a par value of P100 per share.

The board of Republic Cement likewise approved the issuance of 1.13 billion common shares out of the unissued capital stock of the company to Lafarge Holdings Inc., the holder of the convertible loan note issued by the company in 2000.

In accordance with its terms, the convertible loan note, with a face value of P1.47 billion, can be settled by the conversion of the notes into newly issued 1.13 billion common shares of Republic Cement.

Republic Cement was incorporated in 1955 primarily to engage in the manufacture, development and sale of cement, marble and all other kinds and classes of building materials, and the processing or manufacture of materials for industrial or commercial purposes.

The company manufactures Republic Portland and Pozzolan Cement brands, which come in bags of 40 kgs. and in bulk being loaded in bulk carriers of 800 and 1,000 equivalent bags per load.

In Oct. 2000, Republic Cement and its affiliated operating companies completed the integration of their operations. The integration was made through the swapping of the company’s shares with the shares of the following entities: Zeus Holdings, and its 99.63-percent owned subsidiary, Mindanao Portland Cement Corp.; Iligan Cement Corporation; and Fortune Cement Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Premier Cement Corp.

With the integration, Republic Cement became the parent of Zeus and Fortune and the major stockholder of Iligan.

In Dec. 2000, the Company disposed of its investments in Zeus but retained its investments in Mindanao, a 99.63-percent owned subsidiary.

A major development in 2001 was the acquisition by the French conglomerate, Lafarge, S.A. of Blue Circle U.K. and all its world-wide assets including one of the company’s stockholders, Blue Circle Philippines Inc., thus, making the company part of the Lafarge Group in the Philippines.