CARGO-forwarding company LBC Express Inc. is looking at acquiring several logistics companies in Southeast Asia in preparation for the upcoming Asean Integration, its chief executive said late Wednesday.
The initiative will be funded by the company’s fund-raising activity that involves a backdoor listing on the capital market, LBC Express Chairman Santiago G. Araneta said in a chance interview.
“We don’t want the platform to be limited to the Philippine market. So, we’re taking an eye at some logistics companies in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand,” he said, explaining that his company may acquire a portion of these undisclosed firms or completely take over their businesses.
Araneta said his company is “attempting to raise about P7 billion” through the backdoor-listing route that it chose to enter into the stock exchange.
It recently bought 59.1 million unissued shares from Federal Resources Investment Group Inc. at P1 apiece. This initiative will result in LBC Express’s majority ownership of the listed shell company.
Federal has an authorized capital stock of 100 million at P1 par value, with 40.9 million shares issued and outstanding shares. At that rate, LBC Express will take in some 59 percent of the company if the deal pushes through.
LBC Express is a provider of courier and freight-forwarding services. It is also a nonbank provider of domestic-remittance services and inbound international remittance services in the Philippines.
It is also one of the top 5 nonbank providers of domestic-remittance services by volume, as well as one of the top 5 nonbank providers of international inbound remittances in the Philippines by remittance volume in calendar year 2012.
LBC Express was originally eyeing to list on the local bourse via an initial public offering. But this initiative was stalled by the port congestion last year.
Going public via backdoor listing is much cheaper versus launching a public offering. Through this route, an unlisted firm may acquire shares from dormant or shell companies and proceed with the changing of the name and corporate purposes of the corporation.
Ten companies are expected to list in the stock exchange this year. The list includes Crown Asia Chemicals Corp., Company of Friends Inc., Gweilo Corp., Green Power Panay Philippines Inc., Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., and National Book Store Inc.