Ang confirms Danding's divestment of SMC stake

MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel Corp. chairman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco is fully divesting in the 120-year old conglomerate, the company’s president and chief operating officer, Ramon S.Ang confirmed yesterday.

On the sidelines of Ginebra San Miguel Inc.’s annual stockholders meeting yesterday, Ang, who also sits as director of the hard liquor unit, confirmed the option agreement entered into between Top Frontier, a key shareholder of San Miguel, and Cojuangco that would allow the sale of the latter’s 493.375 million shares in San Miguel for P75 each share.

Ang refused to give more details about the contemplated transaction, saying this was purely a personal thing only Cojuangco could answer, though he pointed out that the sale would cover all of Cojuangco’s stake in the diversifying conglomerate.

Top Frontier, which is 51 percent owned by an investor group that includes former Trade Minister Roberto V. Ongpin, struck a share option agreement with 44 companies - mostly related to Cojuangco - involving 476.72 million A shares and 16.65 million B shares. The option, valued at a total P37 billion, can be exercised until Nov. 19, 2012.

The divestment, which was seen coming by industry observers, would signal the change in management of a company expanding into faster-growing industries such as energy, infrastructure and telecommunications.

Top Frontier’s entry into San Miguel was effected in November last year through the purchase of 28 percent of the diversifying conglomerate from San Miguel’s retirement fund for P64.3 billion or P75 a share. Q-Tech, another firm put up by Ongpin and other investors that include Mirzan Mahathir (chairman of Crescent Capital Bhd. and a son of former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad), last year agreed to purchase Kirin Holdings Co.’s 20 percent stake in San Miguel for P39.61 billion.

Ongpin and closely held Master Year Ltd. own 20 percent of Top Frontier while businessmen Iñigo Zobel and Joselito Campos each hold 40 percent.

Top Frontier, which currently owns 54.6 percent of San Miguel’s Class ‘A’ shares and 55.8 percent of Class ‘B’ shares, wants to fortify its holdings in San Miguel with the planned share purchase deals worth a total of P79.7 billion.

Observers said the cashout of Cojuangco, who returned as chairman of San Miguel in 1998, was no surprise given his health condition and age. The “Boss,” as friends and employees call him, was a key ally of President Marcos and fled with him into exile in 1986.

The courts head earlier declared Cojuangco as the owner of some 20 percent of the sequestered San Miguel shares after years of disputes. The government had previously claimed ownership of the shares, alleging that Cojuangco used illegally acquired money from coconut farmers during Marcos’ rule to buy into San Miguel.