SMC completes sale of packaging business

Food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has completed the sale of 35 percent of its  packaging business to Nihon Yamamura Glass (NYG), a leading Japanese manufacturer of glass and plastics packaging, for  approximately P5.3 billion.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, SMC  said that P4.339 billion of the total proceeds will come from the sale of  a portion of its domestic packaging business and $23.453 million from the international packaging business.

NYG is a long-time joint venture partner of SMC in the Philippines as they own and operate the country’s largest glass plant, San Miguel Yamamura Asia Corp. They also own San Miguel Yamamura Fuso Molds Corp., as well as a glass plant in Vietnam.

The move is expected to allow both parties to combine their production and marketing expertise in developing new metal, carton and plastics packaging for beverage makers in the region.

NYG also has a presence in China and Taiwan.

SMC president Ramon Ang earlier said the company is excited to expand its partnership with NYG as the resulting joint venture will combine the potentials of SMC’s diversified packaging business with NYG’s cutting-edge research and technology.

NYG president Koji Yamamura, for his part, said the deal is a “significant investment that creates a strong foundation for our joint ambition to become a leading packaging business in Asia, providing us access to countries in the region where San Miguel already has presence.”

Yamamura said the move also underpins NYG’s commitment to SMC’s growth and its long-term strategy for the development of the firm’s business in the Philipines.