The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Riza Lozada
Listed Calata Corp. is selling 81 percent of its total shares to food processing firm Millennial Global Holdings Inc. through subscription to its 2.5 billion shares, in an effort to fend off its removal from the stock exchange.
In a report to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Calata said it is also transferring all its assets and liabilities to Agriphil Corp. and/or a private company.
“The transaction intends to transfer the existing agribusiness of Calata Corporation to Agriphil Corporation, a private entity or such other private entity,” Calata said.
Last month, PSE initiated an involuntary delisting for Calata because of its numerous violations on disclosure rules.
Moreover, Calata plans to purchase Millennium Global’s seafood business Millennium Ocean Star Corp. (MOSC).
Calata said the transaction will enable MOSC to use “the listed entity in further enhancing its business and fortifying its place as one of the top seafood distributors in the local and international market” and “to provide sufficient and underlying value over shares held by existing shareholders”.
The post-acquisition will turn Calata into a private company from being a publicly listed firm.
MOSC trades almost all known seafood and aquaculture products in the country.
It exports an average of 1,500 metric tons (MT) of black tiger shrimps annually and 3,000 MT of seafood like squid, cuttlefish, octopus, and coral reef fishes, among many others.
Its export markets include Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Europe, Canada, and United States.
On the other hand, MOSC imports about 2,000 MT monthly of frozen mackerel, fish fillets, giant squid, ilex squid, and other seafood products from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, France and the West Indies, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Guam, United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Italy, and Sweden.
Seafood products imported from these markets were distributed to local firms such as Robinsons Supermarkets, S&R Price Club, Makro Philippines, Landmark, Puregold, Big R, Shopwise, SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, and other hotels, restaurants, and catering services companies.