Ferronoux welcomes new key executives

MANILA, Philippines — Ferronoux Holdings Inc. is kicking off the new year with new key executives as part of a change in ownership in the company.

In a stock exchange filing, Ferronoux said it has elected Okada Foundation Inc. president James Lorenzana as chairman and Themis Group chairman Abel Almario as president.

They will be replacing Michael Cosiquien, who resigned from his post as director, chairman and president of the company.

Ferronoux director and chief financial officer Erwin Terrell Sy has likewise resigned from his position and will be replaced by Johannes Bernabe, a former commissioner of the Philippine Competition Commission.

Cosiquien’s ISOC Holdings last week entered into a deed of assignment of shares with Themis for the sale, transfer and assignment of all of its 133.53 million common shares in the listed company for P2.22 apiece or a total of P297 million.

ISOC currently holds 51 percent of the total issued and outstanding capital stock of 261.82 million common shares of Ferronoux.

Ferronoux, however, intends to issue 80 million common shares arising from the private placement by way of subscription by Themis.

As such, ISOC’s shareholdings will be at 39.06 percent of the total issued and outstanding capital stock of 341.82 million common shares post subscription of Themis.

Last month, Ferronoux also approved a private placement of Themis by way of subscription to a total of 80 million common shares or a 23.40-percent stake in the company for P80 million.

The company’s board has likewise approved a private placement of Themis by way of subscription to additional 240 million common shares in the company at P1 apiece to be issued from the increase in its capital stock.

Themis is a domestic corporation incorporated in January last year with a primary purpose of engaging in activities of a holding company.

The company seeks to establish partnerships with key stakeholders to venture into property development and capitalize on other promising investment opportunities with substantial growth potential.

Through its partnership with Themis, Ferronoux targets to establish a presence in the real estate sector, with focus on mixed-use developments that combine residential, commercial and recreational spaces.

Ferronoux is poised to acquire parcels of land adjacent to the Okada Manila integrated casino resort in Parañaque City worth P4.3 billion in a property-for-share swap deal.

The property-for-share swap involves the issuance by Ferronoux of up to 918 million common shares at about P4.70 per share in exchange for three parcels of land owned by Eagle 1 Landholdings Inc. with a total area of 94,144 square meters.

New shares out of an increase in the capital stock of Ferronoux will be issued to Eagle 1.

Ferronoux is seeking to hike its authorized capital stock to P2.5 billion from P550 million. It also intends to list 1.46 billion new common shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

In line with the property-for-share swap with Eagle 1, trading of Ferronoux shares were suspended last Dec. 19 by the PSE pending the company’s compliance with the applicable requirements under the revised backdoor listing rules.

Its shares closed at P5.20 last Dec. 18.

Almario and newly elected Ferronoux director Philipe Aquino serve as vice president and corporate secretary of Eagle 1, respectively.