US investment firm buys into Puregold

MANILA, Philippines - Grocery chain Puregold Price Club Inc. has attracted the interest of US-based global investment firm The Capital Group Companies Inc. (CGC).

In a regulatory filing, CGC said its unit Capital Research and Management Co. (CRMC) has accumulated a total 149.365 million shares or 5.4 percent of the total outstanding stock of Puregold.

CRMC bought the shares from March 2012 to February 2013 at an average price of P25.79 each, the company said.

“The shares were purchased and are held solely for investment purposes in the ordinary course of business and not with the purpose or effect of changing or influencing control,” the investment firm said.

Puregold stocks closed at P41.60 yesterday.

CGC is getting active in the local market, particularly in listed firms.

In September, it acquired 169.34 million shares or around 8.7 percent of Razon-led port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc.

Founded in 1931, CGC is a privately-owned global investment management firm with roughly $1 trillion US investment…

in assets and around 7,000 associates in 23 offices worldwide.

It provides mutual fund investments through American Funds and Capital International funds; institutional investment services through Capital Guardian Trust Co. and Capital International affiliates, and investment management for high-net-worth individuals and families through Capital Group Private Client Services.

Puregold, for its part, is the closest competitor of grocery giant SM Retail Inc.

The Lucio Co-led grocery chain ended last year with 156 stores composed of 131 Puregold Hypermarkets, Supermarkets and Extras; 19 Parco Supermarkets; and six S&R warehouse membership shopping clubs. As of end-2012, Puregold had 77 stores in Metro Manila, 45 in Southern Luzon, 33 in Northern Luzon and one in the Visayas.

This year, Puregold is branching out in Mindanao with the opening of its flagship store in Cagayan de Oro and an S&R Membership Club in Davao as part of plans to hit its 200-outlet target ahead of the 2015 schedule.

The grocery chain nearly doubled its profits last year to P2.718 billion from P1.545 billion on the back of strong sales in existing stores and newly-acquired supermarkets.