Ayala Corp sells Burger King business

Ayala Corp. said Tuesday it has sold its Burger King franchise to a group of local businessmen led by PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan and FedEx Philippines owner Bert Lina, to complete its divestment from the food business. Ayala, the country's biggest conglomerate, did not provide the value of the transaction. In a statement, Ayala said it sold its Burger King business through the transfer of its majority ownership in PFN Holdings Corp. to BK Titans, Inc. (BKT), a company organized by Lina together with Pangilinan, Lito Alvarez, Ricky Vargas and Wilson Young. "The sale of PFN is consistent with Ayala's strategy to focus on its core businesses which include real estate, financial services, telecommunications, utilities and electronics," Ayala said. Pangilinan said his involvement in the group was a personal investment. "It has nothing to do with PLDT, or Smart, or Metro Pacific, or First Pacific," he said. Ayala Corp. has interests in real estate, financial services, telecommunications, electronics manufacturing and information technology, water infrastructure development and management, and automotive dealerships. It controls Ayala Land Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Globe Telecom Inc., Manila Water Company Inc., Integrated Microelectronics, Inc., and Ayala Automotive Holdings Corp. which distributes Honda and Isuzu cars. Ayala exited the food business in 2001 when it sold Pure Foods Corp. to San Miguel Corp. Burger King, founded in Miami in 1954, operates more than 11,000 restaurants in all 50 states of the United States of America and in more than 65 countries and U.S. territories worldwide. - GMANews.TV