Trading of Phoenix shares halted after it acquired industrial park operator

MANILA, Philippines - Shares of Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc., an oil wholesaler and trader, has been temporarily suspended after it acquired a company running an industrial park in Batangas. Buying and selling Phoenix stock has been halted by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), pending disclosure of additional information about its acquisition of the entire Bacnotan International Park Corp. (BIPC) and a 3.9-hectare land inside the Batangas Union Industrial Park (BUIP), the bourse said. In January, the company announced plans of acquiring 100 percent of BIPC for P658 million or P109.80 per share. The company’s board of directors has approved the signing of a memorandum of agreement with BIPC shareholders for a due diligence covering the possible acquisition of the industrial park manager and other properties, Phoenix said in a letter to the PSE. A parcel of industrial land consisting of 39,420 square meters, situated in Lumbang Calzada, and Calaca in Batangas are also being examined. BIPC is the industrial property development arm of the Philippine Investment Management Inc. (Phinma), a conglomerate privately-held by the Del Rosario family. The BUIP in Calaca, Batangas is BIPC’s first development venture. Besides having its own port, it was designed to serve light and heavy industries within the high growth sector of the Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon (CALABARZON) zone. Phoenix Petroleum said Petroterminals Philippines Inc., its unit in charge of its depot and terminal facilities, is a locator in BUIP. Petroterminals plan to provide oil supplies in the Luzon area, the company said. Shares of Phoenix ended at P5.20 during last Friday’s trading at the PSE. GMANews.TV