Pepsi to delist shares at PSE

MANILA, Philippines — Beverage and snack manufacturer Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. (PCPPI) is set to delist from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) as its public ownership has fallen below the minimum requirement.

PCPPI said its board of directors has authorized the company to voluntarily delist its shares listed on the main board of the PSE.

The company earlier announced that its public ownership level was reduced to 2.1 percent following the conclusion of the tender offer conducted by Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co. Ltd. to acquire PCPPI shares from the firm’s shareholders.

This resulted in the company’s public float level to fall below the 10 percent minimum public ownership rule.

Under the rule, PCPPI has until Dec. 18 to comply with the 10 percent minimum public float requirement, or otherwise be subject to involuntary delisting.

“After due evaluation and study of the options available to the company, the board of directors approved and authorized the voluntary delisting of the company’s shares from the PSE,” PCPPI said in a disclosure.

“Considering the level of its public ownership and the prevailing market conditions, it will not be able to comply with the minimum public ownership requirement by Dec. 18,” it said.

In line with the delisting, Lotte Chilsung will conduct a tender offer to acquire up to 77.86 million common shares held collectively by all shareholders of the company.

The shares in the company of Quaker Global Investments BV, the wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo Inc., will not be subject to the tender offer.

PCCPI, which listed in the PSE in 2008, is the exclusive bottler in the Philippines of PepsiCo’s beverage brands Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7-Up, Mirinda, Mug, Gatorade, Tropicana, S and Aquafina.

The company reported a net income of P298.7 million in 2019, a reversal of the P199.5 million loss incurred the previous year.

For this year, the firm said it is cutting down cost and has rationalized planned capital investments by 18 percent.