Berjaya acquires UK car dealer

MANILA, Philippines - The local unit of Malaysian conglomerate Berjaya Corp. is taking over a British car distributor for around P2 billion, just a month after first buying into the London-based luxury car dealer.

In a disclosure, Berjaya Philippines Inc. said it “posted a notice to the London Stock Exchange Wednesday night announcing the issuer’s intent to make a public offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of H.R. Owen.”

“The offer values the share capital of the company on a fully diluted basis at approximately 32.5 million pounds (around P2.34 billion),” Berjaya added.

Under the terms of the tender offer, Berjaya Philippines said it wants to buy out other stakeholders for 130 pence per share.

Last month, Berjaya Philippines expanded its car dealership business by acquiring 29.81 percent of H.R. Owen for P540.36 million as a long-term investment in line with its diversification strategy.

H.R. Owen is involved in  both sales and after-sales of high-endbrands like Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus, Maserati, Mini, Pagani and Rolls-Royce, predominantly in London.

“The funding for the acquisition of shares and the offer will be from the issuer’s internal funds and partly from bank loan,” Berjaya Philippines said.

Berjaya Philippines said it is confident that the loans can be repaid from recurring income.

Its first venture into car dealership is through Mazda, being is the sole distributor of Mazda vehicles, parts, and accessories in the Philippines.

In May, Berjaya Philippines bought 2.38 percent of the common shares, convertible debts and warrants of Redtone International Berhad, an information technology firm listed in Kuala Lumpur’s stock exchange Bursa, for P275.68 million.

Berjaya said the shares were acquired for trading purposes to maximize unused funds.

In February, Berjaya Philippines spent more than $7.48 million to buy two percent of Atlan Holdings Berhad, a property firm and duty-free retailer in Malaysia. The listed company is also holding Atlan’s shares as a near term investment.

Locally, Berjaya Philippines supplies equipment for lottery operations in Luzon and owns the Berjaya Hotel in Makati. It also holds the local franchise for pizza restaurant Papa John’s.

Berjaya Philippines is looking to build more hotels in the country, including the luxury Four Seasons Hotel, and produce consumer goods in anticipation of higher consumption and tourism growth.