Stonebridge acquires P500 million shares in RCI

MANILA, Philippines — Stonebridge Corp. has purchased 250 million shares or approximately nine percent of Roxas and Co. Inc. (RCI) for P500 million.

The RCI shares were acquired at P2 apiece, a 47 percent discount to the P3.75 per share closing price of May 6, 2024.

The acquisition of the securities of RCI will allow Stonebridge to increase its presence in the real estate sector.

Stonebridge is a company chaired by Gizela Gonzalez-Montinola, the wife of Aurelio Montinola, an independent director of RCI, and a member of the company’s executive committee, related party transactions committee, nomination, election and governance committee and audit and risk committee.

The acquisition makes the Montinola family the third largest group of shareholders in RCI, after the founding Roxas-Elizalde families and solar entrepreneur Leandro Leviste who acquired shares in the company last March.

Leviste owns 250.2 million common shares of RCI or approximately 10 percent of RCI’s issued and outstanding shares.

As part of the company’s fundraising program, RCI has sold a total of 767.5 million treasury shares to date, including a sale of 75 million shares at P0.69 per share on March 7, 2024, 75 million shares at P0.65 per share on February 20, 2024 and 66.9 million shares at P0.44 per share on January 17, 2024.

RCI previously operated the 97-year-old Central Azucarera Don Pedro sugar mill in Nasugbu, Batangas, which announced the closure of its business operations effective Feb. 28, 2024, with the termination of all its affected employees on March 29, 2024.