Alliance Global buying out minority Emperador shareholders

MANILA, Philippines - Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI) is buying out the minority shareholders in the backdoor listing vehicle of top brandy maker Emperador Distillers Inc.

The transaction will allow AGI to control nearly 90 percent of TrillionStars Holdings Inc. (TSI) despite a P16.2-billion follow-on offering last week.

“AGI has agreed to purchase Shiok Success International Ltd. and Dew Dreams International Ltd., which own a total of 1.43 billion common shares in TSI,” the company said in a disclosure.

The acquisition will be completed on Sept. 25, the same date of closing of a P16.2-billion share sale to private investors, AGI said, adding that TSI will be then renamed Emperador Inc.

Last week, the investment holding firm of property tycoon Andrew L. Tan pegged Emperador’s offer price at P8.98 per share or a total of P16.2 billion for the 1.8 billion common shares or 12 percent of TSI.

The private offering attracted domestic and international investors, including high quality institutional investors as well as ultra-high networth investors, AGI said.

“After the settlement of the offering and the completion of the acquisition of Shiok and Dew Dreams, AGI will own approximately 87.55 percent of the total issued shares of TSI or Emperador,” the conglomerate said.

TSI was previously controlled by Shiok, a wholly-owned company of Singapore-based Capilion Corporation Pte. Ltd. that planned to manage and operate its Philippine businesses through TSI.

Emperador is the fifth listed firm of property Tan. AGI and property developers Megaworld Corp., Suntrust Home Developers Inc. and Empire East Land Holdings Inc. are already public companies.

Early last month, Emperador committed to invest P5.8 billion in Spain as part of its plan to become a significant global brand. It earlier acquired 100 percent of Spanish brandy maker Bodega San Bruno, including the San Bruno trademark that has been registered since 1942.

Around P11.2 billion of the gross proceeds from the private offering will be used to fund the growth of Emperador.

Emperador targets to double its sales volume in the next five years as it intends to corner a third of the global brandy market. The liquor maker sold 31 million cases of brandy last year.