Dennis Uy’s Phoenix selling Cebu gas station to Top Line

MANILA, Philippines — Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. of Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy is offloading its Cebu gasoline station to newly listed Top Line Business Development Corp.

In a regulatory filing yesterday, Top Line said its board of directors approved the acquisition of the Phoenix station, including its fixtures, leasehold rights, machinery and equipment.

The transaction is being executed through Top Line subsidiary Light Fuels Corp., and group chairman, president and CEO Eugene Erik Lim has been authorized to sign the asset purchase agreement with Phoenix.

Financial details of the deal, however, were not immediately made available.

“This move supports our goal to grow the Light Fuels network across the Visayas and make quality fuel more accessible to more communities,” Top Line senior vice president and COO Brigitte Carmel Lim said in a Viber message.

After raising P732.6 million from its public listing in April, Top Line has embarked on an aggressive expansion push to strengthen its retail fuel network.

It pumped around P925 million to acquire and upgrade 38 gas stations, a two-million-liter depot facility and 15 fuel tanker trucks from Total Oil & Gas Resources Inc. and Ballston Metro Corp.

The depot facility will serve as a distribution hub for retail stations across Negros Oriental and Siquijor, while the new tanker trucks will expand the company’s existing fleet of 12.

The sale of the Cebu gas station, meanwhile, is expected to inject much-needed capital into Phoenix, which has been struggling to stay afloat and remains unable to pay dividends to its shareholders.

In February, the oil firm reported “no significant change” in its financial position, noting that it was focused on debt restructuring and negotiating its obligations with creditors.

As previously disclosed, the Phoenix board authorized the sale of the company’s non-performing and non-core assets to raise capital and streamline operations.