MANILA (Bloomberg), 24 DECEMBER 2021,
Century Pacific Food Inc and Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc, owned by the Po family in the Philippines, are buying two household names in transactions that perked up the local deals scene a week before yearend.
Century Pacific, a tuna canner that has been building its portfolio, will acquire assets and intellectual property related to the manufacturing of Ligo sardines and other marine products, according to a statement on Friday (Dec 24).
The family’s restaurant venture Shakey’s will also purchase food-kiosk operator Potato Corner, known for flavoured fries, according to a separate statement.
The acquisition involves assets, intellectual property rights and operations of all company-owned stores and franchises. Potato Corner has over 1,000 domestic outlets and a growing international footprint.
The deal prices will be determined at a later date. Shares of Shakey’s jumped as much as 17.3% before closing 8.9% higher, while Century Pacific rose as much as 4.6% before ending the session with a 1.9% gain.
“It’s a good shopping spree for Christopher Po,” said Andrei Soriano, an analyst at AP Securities Inc. in Manila, referring to the chairman of both Shakey’s and Century Pacific.
“Potato Corner is anticipated to be a significant addition to Shakey’s revenue while the purchase of Ligo eliminates a competitor,” Soriano said. Potato Corner’s 2018 sales were at least one billion pesos ($20 million), about 12% of Shakey’s Pizza’s pre-pandemic revenue, he estimates.
Shares of Arthaland Corp., the Po family’s listed property venture, also rose 3.2% as it separately announced the purchase of Cebu Lavana Land for 876 million pesos and the stake sales in two units for 516 million pesos.
SOURCE: THE STAR
FULL ARTICLE: https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2021/12/24/iconic-philippine-brands-ligo-potato-corner-bought-by-po-family
