Roxas Holdings acquires 26.7% stake in ethanol firm

MANILA, Philippines - A subsidiary of sugar group Roxas Holdings Inc. (RHI) has acquired a significant stake in the country’s second largest ethanol company for P420 million.

In a disclosure to the local bourse, RHI said Roxas Pacific Bioenergy Corp. had purchased on 26.7 percent stake in San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. (SCBI) from the Zabaleta Group.

Renato C. Valencia, RHI president and chief executive officer, said the acquisition would allow “synergies and optimization of production capacities to achieve higher efficiencies.”

Both Roxas Pacific and SCBI are located in Negros Occidental where 60 percent of the country’s sugar is produced.

“We are excited to work with SCBI’s majority stockholder, Jimenez Group, and we look forward to contributing more to the industry,” said RHI chairman Pedro E. Roxas.

RHI is the largest integrated sugar business in the Philippines and is also into the ethanol business.

The company manages 100 percent of Central Azucarera Don Pedro Inc. in Nasugbu, Batangas, and Central Azucarera de la Carlota Inc. as well as Roxol Bioenergy Corp. in La Carlota, Negros Occidental.

SCBI, meanwhile, is among the three top bioethanol producers in the country. Bioethanol is produced using molasses or sugar juice.

RHI posted a 90 percent decline in its net income in the first quarter of its fiscal year ending December 2014 as its Batangas milling operations were delayed pending maturity of sugarcane.