By John Clifford Lintao
BEVERAGE giant Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. is delisting from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
In a disclosure, Pepsi Philippines said its board of directors has authorized the voluntary delisting of its shares that are listed in the main board of the PSE in “accordance with all applicable rules.”
The beverage and snack maker explained that its public ownership level, or the percentage of its stocks that are publicly traded, stood at 2.1 percent, which is below the minimum 10 percent set by the PSE.
The reduction in public resulted from the conclusion of the tender offer conducted by Korean beverage maker Lotte Chilsung to acquire Pepsi Philippines’ shares from its shareholders.
In March, the Philippine Competition Commission approved Lotte Chilsung’s acquisition of up to 134,381,838 common shares of Pepsi Philippines, representing 57.78 percent of its total issued and outstanding capital stock.
Under the PSE Rule on Minimum Public Ownership, Pepsi Philippines has until December 18, 2020 to comply with the 10 percent minimum public float requirement or otherwise be subject to involuntary delisting.
“After due evaluation and study of the options available to the company, the board of directors approved and authorized the voluntary delisting of the company’s shares from the PSE,” Pepsi Philippines said.
“Considering the level of its public ownership and the prevailing market conditions, it will not be able to comply with the minimum public ownership requirement by 18 December 2020,” it said.
The company will also file a petition to the Securities and Exchange Commission for the voluntary revocation of the registration of its securities and permit to sell securities.
Pepsi Philippines noted that the shares in the company of Quaker Global Investments B.V., the wholly-owned subsidiary of PepsiCo Inc., will not be subject to the tender offer.
“Appropriate disclosures will be made once Lotte Chilsung files the Tender Offer Report (in the form of SEC Form 19-1 including its annexes, exhibits and schedules) with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PSE on or before the commencement of the Tender Offer on 16 September 2020,” it said.
“It shall contain, among others, the terms and conditions of the Tender Offer. Copies of the Tender Offer Report and the relevant tender offer materials will be sent to each common shareholder separately,” it added.
Nevertheless, the company said it remains the exclusive bottler in the Philippines of PepsiCo’s beverage brands Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7-Up, Mirinda, Mug, Gatorade, Tropicana, Sting, and Aquafina.