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A BROWN Co. Inc. disclosed to the Philippine Stock
Exchange that it is increasing its stake in Monte Oro Resources and
Energy, the parent of the company that partly owns the country’s
lone power grid.
The firm said its board approved
last Friday the purchase of additional 90.5 million shares in Monte
Oro Resources worth P228.3 million. This would nearly double A.
Brown’s ownership in the company from 94.2 million shares to
184.72 million shares.
The listed company told the local
bourse that it would pay for the additional stake in three tranches.
The first tranche of 40 percent worth P90.5 million will be paid on
or before June 13 while the second tranche or 30 percent worth
P67.88 million will be paid on July 11. The balance worth P67.88
million will be paid on August 15.
Earlier, A. Brown said it will
swap its assets for additional shares in its subsidiaries to raise
funds for its participation in the consortium that won the bid for
the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo). Because of this, A. Brown
is reorganizing and transferring its real estate, non-hard and
trading assets to its wholly owned units Brown Resources Corp. and A
Brown Energy and Resources Development Inc. in exchange for more
shares in these companies.
A. Brown has an 18.74-percent
interest in Monte Oro Resources, which owns Monte Oro Grid Resources
Corp., which in turn owns 30 percent of the National Grid
Corporation of the Philippines, the concession company of the
consortium that won the bid for TransCo in December last year.
The other members of the
consortium are the Calaca High Power Corp. and State Grid Hong Kong
Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of State Grid Corp. of China.
The group submitted the highest
bid of $3.95 billion for the right to operate and maintain
TransCo’s nationwide power transmission system for the next 25
years.
--Likha C. Cuevas-Miel
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