ALI purchase of Central Azucarera de Tarlac assets gets PCC OK

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Competition Commission has approved Ayala Land Inc.’s acquisition of the assets of Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT), saying the transaction does not result in substantial lessening of competition in their markets.

ALI is buying approximately 290 hectares of land of CAT located in Barangay Central, San Miguel, Tarlac City.

“The parties are not operating in the same geographic market,” the PCC said in its decision dated March 6.

As the property arm of the Ayala conglomerate, ALI is primarily engaged in the planning and development of large-scale integrated estates that include residential lots and buildings, office buildings, commercial and industrial developments, as well as hotels and resorts.

ALI is also engaged in retail and healthcare.

CAT, meanwhile, is also a publicly-listed company primarily engaged in the manufacture of sugar and its by-products. Its facilities include the sugar milling and refinery, distillery and carbon dioxide plants in Tarlac.

The PCC, as the country’s anti-trust body, is mandated under the Philippine Competition Act to review mergers and acquisitions, including joint ventures, that meet the P1-billion threshold to ensure that such deals will not harm the interest of consumers.

On Monday, however, the PCC decided to raise the threshold to P5 billion for the Size of Person and P2 billion for the Size of Transaction as defined in its implementing rules and regulations to keep pace with recent developments in the economy.

The PCC said the new thresholds do not apply to mergers or acquisitions pending review by the commission, notifiable transactions consummated before the effectivity of the circular, and transactions already subject of a decision.