Ashmore offers $550M for Aramco's 40% in Petron

MANILA, Philippines- Ashmore Group unit SEA Refinery Holdings has offered $550-million for Aramco Overseas Co.'s 40-percent stake in Petron Corp., the country's largest oil refiner said Friday. In a statement, Petron disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that it received word of the offer from Philippine National Oil Co., which holds another 40 percent in Petron. “Over the years, Petron has built a solid business that has resulted in undisputed industry leadership... This will not change, regardless of the company’s ownership structure. In the meantime, we will continue to focus on initiatives to sustain our growth momentum and deliver the best value to our stakeholders," said Petron Corp. chairman and chief executive officer Nicasio I. Alcantara. Petron said Ashmore offered $550-million for 3,750,000,009 Petron shares. This translates into an offer of P6 per share, lower than Petron's Thursday closing price of P6.10 apiece. "Ashmore is a global asset management company listed in the London Stock Exchange with assets under management amounting to $36.5-billion and has a strong track record of constructive partnerships worldwide, including significant Philippines-related investments over a period of many years," Petron said in its statement. - GMANews.TV