Lucio Co consolidates mining, oil assets into Alcorn

MANILA, Philippines - Chinese-Filipino businessman Lucio Co is consolidating all his mining and oil-related investments into wholly-owned subsidiary Alcorn Petroleum and Minerals Corp.

In a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange, Cosco Capital, the listed holding firm of the Co family, said it is transferring its minority stake in seven oil service contracts in Palawan and Leyte as well as its 100 percent interest in a 700-hectare copper project in Concepcion, Iloilo, to Alcorn.

The transaction is in line with the corporate restructuring of Cosco, whose investments include a 51 percent stake in Puregold Price Club as well as several liquor distribution companies, commercial real estate companies, oil storage and office and school supplies retailer Office Warehouse.

Cosco posted a pro-forma net profit of P3.3 billion last year, more than double the P1.5 billion registered in 2012. The strong growth was mainly driven by the robust performance of its grocery business Puregold Price Club Inc.

Cosco Capital claims to be the country’s leading importer of liquor with exclusive distribution rights for some of the world’s top brands such as Cuervo, Jim Beam, Fundador, Absolut Vodka, Johnny Walker, Chivas Regal and Alfonso.

Cosco Capital is seeking to raise P5 billion from the issuance of seven-year corporate notes and 10-year debt papers to fund future acquisition of retail-related businesses.