MANILA, Philippines — Japanese snack giant Calbee announced it would terminate its joint venture agreement with Philippine snacks and beverage manufacturer Universal Robina Corp. (URC) amid reported weak sales growth.
In a statement, Calbee announced its decision to transfer all the shares of Calbee-URC, Inc. (CURC)—its equally shared joint venture with its Filipino partner—to URC for more than P170 million.
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Gokongwei-led URC confirmed the transaction in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Thursday, adding that the purchase price is based on CURC’s agreed book value as of Sept. 30, 2018.
“Due to the transfer of shares, CURC will no longer exist as a consolidated subsidiary of Calbee,” the Japanese potato crisp-maker said.
Nonetheless, Calbee said URC will continue producing and selling Calbee products under a licensing agreement, “as the snack market in the Philippines is still promising and expecting to grow continuously.”
According to a report by Nikkei Asian Review, the venture “has registered lackluster sales growth and a total net loss of around 280 million pesos between 2015 and 2017.”
CURC was incorporated last April 29, 2014. The joint venture sought to grow sales of Calbee products and expand market share in the Philippines.
On Thursday, shares in URC were up 20 centavos or 0.14 percent to close at P147.40 apiece. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral