Axelum Resources Corp. has inked the agreement for the formal entry of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) into the coconut products manufacturing firm, tweaking the arrangement in the process.
The acquisition, in which MPIC will have a 34.76 percent stake through its unit Metro Pacific Agro Ventures Inc. (MPAV), will now be completed in phases subject to Axelum meeting “certain EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) milestones.”
MPAV is acquiring 1.19 billion common shares and 200 million redeemable preferred shares of Axelum as part of the transaction.
First Pacific Co. Ltd., MPIC’s parent company, said the transaction will have an initial payment of P3.37 billion payable on or around Dec. 22, 2023, with additional payments payable upon achievement of the EBITDA milestones, until the full amount is paid up.
“The amendments in relation to the payment by installments under the SPA (share purchase agreement) were agreed following arms’ length negotiations of the parties. For the avoidance of doubt, an amount of P0.5 billion will be payable for the redeemable preferred shares also on or around December 22, 2023, which is not subject to the EBITDA milestones referred to above,” First Pacific said.
The parties also agreed to an extension of the settlement date of the SPA and the subscription agreement to Jan. 15, 2024, First Pacific added.
Axelum formally told the Philippine Stock Exchange of the development Wednesday.
“We proudly welcome the investment of MPAV into Axelum. This partnership is built on a shared vision and profound commitment to spearhead initiatives that will modernize our local coconut industry. We aim to achieve this by leveraging our joint expertise, network and resources,” said Romeo Chan, Axelum chairman.
“Most importantly, this will allow us to deepen our societal impact by providing sustainable livelihood to coconut farming communities, and thereby contributing to the continuous development of the country’s agriculture sector,” he added. – Ruelle Castro
