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A.SORIANO Corp., the listed holding company of the
Soriano family with highly diversified investments, is
selling some of its holdings in Phelps Dodge Philippines
Inc. (PDPI) to General Cable Co. (GCC) of Canada for
P641.5 million (roughly $15 million).
The
company, in its disclosure to regulators Tuesday, said
it has signed a deed of assignment with GCC for the sale
of its 1,081,900 shares in the country’s largest wire
and cable manufacturer.
The
shares represent 18.34 percent of PDPI’s total
outstanding shares.
The
filing also said the sale effectively dilutes Anscor’s
ownership in PDPI to 40 percent and elevates GCC to
controlling stockholder with 60 percent.
Anscor,
however, will continue to manage PDPI, with Messrs.
Andres Soriano III and Ernest K. Cuyegkeng remaining as
chairman and president, respectively.
GCC is a
subsidiary of General Cable Corp. (US), which in late
2007 bought Phelps Dodge International Corp., the joint
venture partner of Anscor in PDPI.
The
investment complements GCC’s strategy in the region to
further penetrate Southeast Asia markets as well as
support ongoing operations in Australia, the Middle East
and South Africa.
With the
sharing of new products and technology from GCC around
the world, PDPI expects to penetrate other sectors of
the Philippine wire and cable market.
Anscor
did not disclose the use of the proceeds from the sale
but a company source said the money will support its
expansion program.
Earlier,
Anscor bought for $13.95 million a US-based firm engaged
in the contract and temporary staffing and permanent
placement of nurses and related health-care
professionals in the United States.
The
acquisition of Cirrus Holdings USA, Llc. and affiliate
Cirrus Medical Staffing, Llc., was done through unit
Medtivia Inc., a placement arm headquartered in Houston,
Texas, that trains and recruits Flipino nurses in the
US.
Anscor
said it made the acquisitions, which will complement the
operations of the International Quality Manpower
Services, Inc., its existing Philippine-based nurse
recruitment and placement agency business.
Cirrus,
a six-year-old company, is a leading provider of travel
nurse and allied healthcare staffing services. It
recruits nurses and allied healthcare professionals in
acute-care hospitals and other healthcare facilities all
in the US.
Anscor
will continue to capitalize on the rising requirement
for nurses in the US. Citing a report, it said an
estimated eight to10 percent of total nursing positions
in US hospitals are currently vacant, and the US Bureau
of Labor Statistics estimates that the country will need
an additional 1.2 million nurses by 2014. |
