Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., a member of the Gokongwei Group, has reacquired 22.2 percent of the company’s stock from GCH Investments Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of DFI Retail Group, for ₱15.77 billion.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, RRHI said it has reacquired 315.31 million of its common shares belonging to DFI under a duly approved special block sale.

As background, DFI became a minority shareholder of RRHI in 2018 when Robinsons Retail acquired 100 percent of Rustan Supercenters, Inc. (RSCI) through a share-for-share swap transaction with DFI, valued at ₱18 billion.

DFI further increased its stake in the company when it purchased secondary shares from members of the Gokongwei family and also in the market, reaching a 20 percent stake in RRHI at that time.

The transaction was executed through a special block sale on the Philippine Stock Exchange, following the fulfillment of the closing conditions.

“The transaction price was determined through mutual agreement between RRHI and GCH, taking into account prevailing market conditions and strategic considerations,” RRHI said.

It funded the share repurchase through a combination of internal resources and external borrowings, while maintaining ample financial flexibility after the buyback.

RRHI said it views this buyback transaction as a strategic move to optimize capital allocation and create more value for its stakeholders.

It added that the ongoing share repurchase program reflects the company’s belief that current market prices do not fully reflect the underlying financial strength and long-term growth prospects of RRHI.

“DFI has been instrumental in RRHI’s growth over the last few years. Our acquisition of RSCI in 2018 and Rose Pharmacy in 2020 from DFI has allowed us to enter the premium food retail business and expand our drugstore presence in the Visayas and Mindanao regions as we added The Marketplace, Shopwise, and Rose Pharmacy into our portfolio,” said RRHI President and CEO Stanley C. Co.

He added that, “This partnership has also paved the way for RRHI to become the exclusive distributor of DFI’s private label brands – Meadows and Guardian – in the country. For this, we are deeply grateful for the partnership we have forged with DFI through the years.”

“More importantly, our arrangement with DFI to exclusively distribute the Meadows and Guardian brands in the Philippines will continue following this transaction.

“These brands continue to gain traction in the market, and are a testament to our shared commitment in providing consumers innovative and affordable options. We remain firmly aligned with our commercial objectives and look forward to strengthening this collaboration in the years to come,” noted Co.