Del Monte Pacific completes rights offering
Del Monte said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Friday it received applications for 720.645 million rights shares, or higher than the 641.935 million shares it had planned to issue.
The company accepted applications for 641.93 million shares, including 29.865 million from excess requests.
Del Monte will issue the rights shares at P10.60 apiece on March 10, 2015. The will be listed both in the Singapore Stock Exchange and Philippine Stock Exchange on March 11, 2015.
Del Monte plans to use proceeds from the fund raising activity to partially repay existing debts related to acquisitions.
Del Monte last month completed the acquisition of Del Monte Foods Inc. for $1.675 billion, transforming the company into a global branded firm. The deal was financed through debt worth $970 million and equity of $750 million.
NutriAsia Pacific Ltd., a company owned by condiments king Joselito Campos, holds an aggregate interest in 869.315 million common shares in Del Monte, representing 66.76 percent of the company’s issued and outstanding common shares.
NutriAsia earlier informed Del Monte that it would to subscribe for its pro-rata entitlements in the offering.
The group owns the Del Monte brand in the Philippines for processed products where it enjoys a leading market share for canned pineapple juice and juice drinks, canned pineapple and tropical mixed fruits, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce and tomato ketchup.
It also owns, among other assets, the Del Monte brand rights for processed food products in the US and South America. Del Mont is one of the largest and most well-known producers and distributors of premium quality food products in the US, marketing and selling them under the iconic Del Monte, S&W, Contadina and College Inn brands.
With a 23,000-hectare pineapple plantation in the Philippines, over 700,000-ton processing capacity and a port beside the cannery, the company’s subsidiary operates the world’s largest fully-integrated pineapple operation.
Del Monte posted a net loss of $21.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2014 covering May to July, a reversal of the $4.2-million net income posted in the same period a year ago.
Del Monte said it expected the company to be in a transition period in fiscal year 2015, with its bottomline impacted by acquisition-related expenses.
Source: manilastandardtoday.com
