San Miguel may bid for Del Monte Pacific<\/p>\n
San Miguel Corp., the largest Philippine food and beverage
\ncompany, may bid for 40 percent of Del Monte Pacific Ltd., a
\nstake with a market value of about S$290 million (US$172
\nmillion).<\/p>\n
San Miguel is auditing the assets of Singapore-listed Del
\nMonte Pacific, the world's largest pineapple canner.<\/p>\n
\"The due diligence is continuing,\" San Miguel Chief Financial
\nOfficer Ferdinand Constantino told Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
\"No decision has been made on whether to submit a definite
\nbid.\"<\/p>\n
Reuters earlier reported Manila-based San Miguel is among the
\npossible bidders for the 40 percent stake held by Italy's Cirio
\nFinanziaria SpA.<\/p>\n
Other potential buyers include Sumitomo Corp. of Japan and
\nU.S. companies H.J. Heinz Co. and Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.,
\nthe report said.<\/p>\n
\"Del Monte's purchase, if it pushes through, will give more
\nheft to San Miguel's regional expansion program,\" said Alfred Dy,
\nhead of research at CLSA Philippines Inc.<\/p>\n
San Miguel, partly owned by Japan's Kirin Brewery Co., bought
\nhalf of Australia's No. 1 juice maker Berri Ltd. in August as
\npart of a plan to build up its beverage business in Asia.<\/p>\n
San Miguel is expanding abroad to trim its dependence in the
\nPhilippines, where it owns 90 percent of beer sold and 86 percent
\nof the soft-drinks market.<\/p>\n
Cirio Finanziaria is under liquidation after defaulting on 1.3
\nbillion euros in November 2002.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, San Miguel started building plants in
\nChina, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam to make bottled water,
\njuice and soft drinks. It acquired a 20-hectare property in
\nMalaysia in June to build a similar facility.<\/p>\n
San Miguel's Class A shares, reserved for Filipinos, rose 0.9
\npercent to 58 pesos at the noon close of trading in Manila. Its
\nClass B shares, which have no ownership restrictions, rose 0.7
\npercent to 71 pesos.<\/p>\n
Shares of Del Monte Pacific rose 2.2 percent to Singapore
\n$0.675 in Singapore. -- Bloomberg<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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