IN line with a strategy to dispose of non-core assets, Benpres Holdings Corp. of the Lopezes said it has sold its 18-percent ownership in Professional Services Inc.—owner and operator of the upscale The Medical City—for P600 million.

The buyer, according to listed Benpres, was an affiliate of Lombard Asia III (LAIII), an Asia-focused private equity fund managed by Lombard Investments Inc. (Lombard). Lombard is a major international private equity-investment manager with offices in Bangkok, Hong Kong and San Francisco. Its investors include some of the world’s largest and most respected financial institutions, major pension funds and corporations, as well as family investment offices in Asia, Europe and North America.

The proceeds from the sale will be used by the company to help pay down its debts, which as of end-2007 amount to $367 million.

Benpres, which own stakes in ABS-CBS Broadcasting Corp., Bayan Telecommunications Inc., Manila North Tollways Corp., First Philippine Holdings Corp. and Rockwell Land Corp., earlier sold its shareholdings in Maynilad Water Services Inc.

“We have determined the vision of the revitalized Lopez Group of Companies, of which Benpres is at the lead, to be the creation of a group dedicated to the pursuit of management excellence and public service in the fields of power and media. In this regard, all our activities would be consolidated in the two holding companies, with First Philippine Holdings Corp. concentrating on power, and Benpres on media and related sectors,” said president Angel Ong in a previous interview.

Benpres, whose shares are traded at the stock exchange, registered a net income of P5.4 billion in 2007 from P4.3 billion a year earlier, while consolidated revenues rose 26 percent to P19.9 billion.

IN line with a strategy to dispose of non-core assets, Benpres Holdings Corp. of the Lopezes said it has sold its 18-percent ownership in Professional Services Inc.—owner and operator of the upscale The Medical City—for P600 million.

Filinvest to spend P500M on BPO space

GOTIANUN-led Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) is spending P500 million this year to fund the completion of office spaces intended for the business process outsourcing (BPO) market.

SINGAPORE—Oracle Corp., the world’s largest enterprise software developer, is anticipating rapidly growing demand for improved Business Intelligence (BI) solutions with far more powerful applications that go beyond simple data collection and reporting.

CEBU CITY—SPi, a unit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) that provides outsourcing and offshoring (O and O) solutions, is rapidly expanding operations here in an effort to transfer a chunk of its projects into the country from the US.

PUBLICLY traded Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. said its net income in 2007 grew 515 percent to P289 million from P47 million a year earlier on the back of higher revenues from its nickel unit, Berong Nickel Corp.

There are three dates that the public investors generally monitor and remember when a listed company declares dividends. To illustrate: The board of directors of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. approved on March 26, 2008, which is the approval date, a P0.825-per-share dividend, which it will pay its stockholders as of April 30, 2008, which is the record date, on May 27, 2008, which is the payment date.