SMC acquires majority stake in Australian firm

MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel Corp. is further expanding its presence in the packaging business with the acquisition of a majority stake in Cospak Group, the largest packaging trading firm in Australasia.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, San Miguel said the deal was entered into by its packaging unit San Miguel Yamamura Packaging International Ltd. (SMYPIL). The company didn’t provide other details, but said it expects the deal to be completed no later than February 2010.

Based in Sydney, Australia, the Cospak Group operates in New Zealand and has trading outposts in South Africa and Italy. Combined with its manufacturing operations, the annual revenues of the Cospak Group exceed A$120 million (P5.16 billion).

SMYPIL, on the other hand, has businesses in Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Indonesia.

SMYPIL said it “hopes to make the Cospak Group the vehicle for its Australasian and rapidly growing exports business.”

Last year, San Miguel sold its erstwhile flagship overseas business, Australian dairy and juice manufacturer National Foods, to Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings for $2.6 billion.

San Miguel is aiming to raise $800 million from the sale of its overseas beer operations and a public offering of a 10-to-14 percent stake in packaging unit in its early 2010 to raise about $100 million.

Nihon Yamamura Glass, a Japanese maker of glass bottles and plastic containers, holds a 35-percent stake in the packaging unit which it bought for $130 million in January 2008.

San Miguel, which is moving away from its traditional food and drinks businesses, will be using proceeds from asset sales to fund its entry into heavy industry and pay down debt.