Cash-strapped Roxas and Company, Inc. (RCI) has received a much-needed P500 million capital infusion from Stonebridge Corporation, a company chaired by Gizela Gonzalez-Montinola.
RCI has investments in real estate through Roxas Land Corporation and sugar milling through a minority interest in Roxas Holdings. It is also developing solar power facilities within its land in Nasugbu as well as a joint venture for the manufacture of coconut products for export.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on May 7, 2024, Stonebridge said it bought 250 million RCI treasury shares, or approximately nine percent of RCI, for P500 million.
At the acquisition price of P2.00 per share, the Montinola investment is at a 47 percent discount to P3.75 per share, the closing price at the PSE on May 6 2024. Based on this, the share sale translated to a P437.5 million discount or gain for Montinola.
This acquisition makes the Montinola family the third largest group of shareholders in RCI, after the founding Roxas-Elizalde families and solar entrepreneur Leandro Leviste who recently acquired a 10 percent stake.
Montinola is the wife of Aurelio Montinola, an independent director of RCI, and a member of the company's Executive Committee, Related Party Transactions Committee, Nomination, Election & Governance Committee, and Audit and Risk Committee.
Stonebridge said that, with a nine percent interest, it will be seeking the election of its nominee to RCI’s Board of Directors. The firm said it invested in RCI to increase its presence in the real estate sector.
RCI has sold a total of 767.5 million treasury shares to date, as part of the company's fundraising program, including a sale of 75 million shares at P0.69 per share on March 7, 2024, 75 million shares at P0.65 per share on February 20, 2024, and 66.9 million shares at P0.44 per share on January 17, 2024.
Based on the company's latest financial statements, it has P1.5 billion of current liabilities in excess of current assets, with the largest portion of unpaid loans due to the Bank of the Philippine Islands, where Montinola is also an independent director.
Leviste’s acquisition of a stake in RCI came after his Countryside Investments Holdings Corporation (Countryside) announced a plan to invest P5 billion to help propel the development of rural Batangas.
This follows the recent sale of shares of Leviste’s Solar Philippines in SP New Energy Corporation to Meralco PowerGen Corporation and other investors.