Splash Corp. planning to sell stake in Medical City

MANILA, Philippines- Personal products manufacturer Splash Corp. on Monday disclosed that it plans to sell its stake in one of Manila’s premier hospitals to divest from its non core businesses. In a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Splash Corp. said it has received board approval to sell P200 million worth of stock in Professional Services Inc., the operator of Medical City Medical Center in Pasig City. Splash’s equity in the hospital operator is equivalent to 50,000 shares of stock, or 7.7 percent. "As a public company we would like to offer our shareholders the optimum value for their shares. We would like as well to divest from non-core businesses; the international trend in our business seems more attractive," Splash CEO Rolando Hortaleza told GMANews.TV. Hortaleza said Splash would rather stick to the consumer orientation of the company, and "take advantage of it when it comes to the choice of investment." Splash Corp. manufactures and markets personal care products, and has recently expanded this business abroad. Professional Services Inc. is 40-percent owned by Medical City's doctors. Part of the company, or 18 percent, is held by equity fund manager Lombard Investments Inc. Lombard’s stake used to be owned by Benpres Holdings Corp. The rest of the firm is controlled by Manila Electric Co., Insular Life Assurance Co., United Laboratories Inc., the Asian Development Bank, San Miguel Corp., and drug retail company Mercury Drug. Medical City’s facilities include a 500 bed hospital complex, which will soon be expanded, to 750 beds and 280 medical clinics. - GMANews.TV