San Miguel Corp. said it is committed to achieving a favorable outcome in the review of its planned acquisition of Holcim Philippines Inc. after the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) raised competition concerns anew over the merger.
“We are aware of the concerns raised by the Philippine Competition Commission on the company’s proposed acquisition of Holcim Philippines, and are committed to achieving a favorable outcome of the review process. We firmly believe that the acquisition of Holcim by San Miguel Corp., a Filipino company, will be beneficial to consumers, the industry, and our country’s development,” the company said in a short statement sent over the weekend.
On Friday, the PCC said its review yielded red flags on San Miguel’s planned takeover of Holcim through unit First Stronghold Cement Industries Inc., citing “monopoly, increased market power, and potential collusion arising from the merger.”
The PCC said San Miguel’s acquisition of Holcim will result in a substantial lessening of competition in the market for grey cement in four key areas in the Philippines.
Specifically this will be felt in Northwest Luzon, where it will eliminates Top Frontier Investment Holdings Inc.’sTop Frontier’s only competitor in the area, resulting in a monopoly in the market for grey cement.
In justifying its view, PCC noted that while First Stronghold is unit under San Miguel’s portfolio, the latter is a unit of Top Frontier
“Top Frontier has two cement plants slated to begin commercial operations within the next 2 years: Northern Cement and Oro Cemento Industries Corp.,” the PCC said.
