Emperador Distillers to raise capital stock to P2B

Emperador Distillers Inc., a rhum maker owned by industrialist Andrew Tan, is raising its capital stock to P2 billion from only P10 million.

Emperador, the country’s third largest liquor organization, is a member of Consolidated Distillers which is engaged in diverse operations such as manufacturing, marketing, importation, and real estate development.

Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show that of the capital increase, P1.002 billion has been subscribed by Tan’s Andresons Group Inc. and out of that subscription P250.625 million was paid in cash.

The company did not cite any reason for the increase in its capitalization, which could either be in preparation for the entry of an investor or a planned share offering.

Among Emperador’s products include Club Valentino Rhum, Collector’s Premium Whisky, Andy Player Special Whisky, and Emperador Brandy.

For the second time, Emperador Brandy received the prestigious Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands, a region-wide survey conducted in seven markets – Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Tailand, Malaysia, Singapore and India — where brands ranging from luxury goods to everyday necessities are ranked by consumers based on quality, value, trustworthiness, strong image and understanding of customer needs.

In 2005, Emperador Brandy was awarded as number one in its category at the National Shoppers Choice Awards.

Emperador competes with Ginebra San Miguel, the hard liquor unit of Southeast Asia’s biggest conglomerate San Miguel Corp., and taipan Lucio Tan’s Tanduay Rhum

Aside from Emperador, Tan also owns Megaworld Properties & Holdings Inc., a master developer of large-scale projects set in prime locations in Metro Manila.

Among these projects include the Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City, Forbes Town Center in Makati, Mckinley Hill, Newport City in Pasay City and Manhattan Garden City at Araneta Center in Quezon City.

Eastwood City, a 15-hectare development near the financial district of Ortigas, hosts the call-center operations of (IBM) and Citibank, among others. It also has residential developments and retail facilities.

Megaworld has earmarked $1.2 billion over the next five years for the development of buildings catering to the needs of business process outsourcing firms and new township projects aimed at further boosting its profitability.