Phoenix Petroleum Philippines enters c-store business with purchase of FamilyMart
Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. has agreed to purchase majority interest in Philippine convenience store chain FamilyMart from SIAL CVS Retailers Inc. The acquisition marks the entry of Phoenix Petroleum into the fast-growing convenience retail market in the Philippines, which is currently dominated by 7-Eleven. The transaction needs to be approved by the Philippine Competition Commission.
SIAL CVS Retailers owns 60% of Philippine FamilyMart CVS Inc. (PFM), the Philippine franchisee of the Family Mart brand of convenience stores in the Philippines, with a network of 67 company-owned and franchise stores in the Philippines. SIAL CVS is a 50-50 joint venture between ALI Capital Corp., a 100% subsidiary of Ayala Land Inc., and SSI Group Inc. Japanese companies FamilyMart Co., Ltd. and ITOCHU Corp., own 37.6% and 2.4%, respectively, of Philippine FamilyMart CVS Inc.
“Philippine FamilyMart has built a reputation for convenience and fresh, quality offerings. We are pleased to have it as a strategic addition to the group as we broaden our products and services and offer greater convenience to our customers,” said Dennis Uy, Phoenix Petroleum president and CEO.
Phoenix Petroleum is the leading independent and fastest-growing oil company in the Philippines, with 518 retail stations nationwide. Shares of Phoenix Petroleum rose by 0.7% after the deal was announced yesterday, closing at PHP11.50 (USD0.22) per share, giving the company a market capitalization of PHP15.54 billion (USD300 million). The market viewed the acquisition as a positive move, as the convenience store business highly complements the fuel retail business, giving oil marketers the opportunity to capture higher margins in c-store offerings.
“We are proud to have introduced FamilyMart to the Philippines. Filipinos have really embraced the convenience store format and FamilyMart is well positioned as one of the top CVS brands in the country,” said Anthony Huang, SSI president and chief executive officer.
Jose Emmanuel H. Jalandoni, Ayala Land senior vice-president, said, “We are delighted that Phoenix Petroleum shares our vision for the continued growth of the FamilyMart brand in the Philippines. We believe that they have a robust platform for taking FamilyMart to the next level and will be excellent stewards of the brand moving forward.”
A memorandum of understanding on the transaction was signed on October 30. UBS AG Hong Kong Branch acted as financial adviser to the sellers in this transaction.
