LMG shares rise on sale rumors

MANILA, Philippines - Publicly-listed Chemical Industries of the Philippines (CIP) said it expects to forge a deal soon on the sale of whole or part of its stake in subsidiary LMG Chemical Corp.

CIP chairman Antonio Garcia told The STAR that the rise in LMG prices the past few weeks may be due to speculations over negotiations regarding the sale by CIP of its stake in LMG, also a publicly-listed company.

The share price of LMG continued to shoot up yesterday, closing at an all-time high of P8 on talks the company is subject of a takeover.

LMG hit an intraday high of P8.40 apiece with a total of 10.49 millions shares changing hands valued at P81.41 million.

LMG’s share price has been on an upward trend since the start of the year on speculation a deal involving the sale of majority of the company is forthcoming. From only P1.21 on Jan. 2, the stock has hit multiple highs to close at P8 yesterday, or 21.21 percent higher than Tuesday’s close of P6.60.

 LMG has a public float of only 0.2 percent, thus falling below the required minimum public ownership of at least 10 percent. The company told the stock exchange in December that it was taking steps to comply with the said requirement.

As of Feb .1, LMG had a market capitalization of P1.28 billion.

Garcia refused to give any detail regarding the talks, although he said that they are in talks with the intermediaries, not the buyers themselves. He also did not disclose whether the buyers are foreign or local entities, but said that something concrete may happen this month or next.

It was earlier reported that local holding company, Sonato Inc., has acquired a 99.8-percent stake in industrial chemical manufacturer LMG for P353.67 million.

The block was jointly sold by CIP and 3G Holdings Corp. at P1.83 a share. The transaction left only a very little public float not yet owned by Sonato.

Sonato’s purchase price was higher than an aborted deal with Sorsogon-based real estate company LKY Development, which earlier was set to buy the same stake at P1.77 a share. LKY, however, defaulted on its commitment to buy the block.

But Garcia told The STAR yesterday that the deal with Sonato did not push through and that this was another company they are in talks with.

In 2007, LMG underwent a major corporate restructuring after transferring its assets and liabilities to its two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Chemphil Manufacturing Corp. and LMG Land Development Corp. It transferred its acid plant and tank farm properties to consolidate the acid plant and tank farm operations into individual holding companies for better management and monitoring.

LMG Chemicals subsidiary KPC produces aluminium sulphate for Manila Water and Maynilad Water Services, while Chemphil Manufacturing makes sulphuric acid, oleum, detergent sulphur and other industrial chemicals.

LMG dates back to 1970, when LMG Chemicals Inc. was incorporated. However, its sulfuric acid manufacturing and marketing operations started way back in 1951 with the establishment of the first sulfuric acid plant in the Philippines.

LMG’s net sales in the third quarter of 2011 reached P1.7 million while net income was at a mere P 61,892 .

Last year, the company said it will continue with its trading activities. It said it is in serious talks with suppliers of chemical and other chemical products that could be offered in the domestic market. Some of the these materials are caustic soda, various sulphate products and other water treatment chemicals.

Menwhile, CIP is the parent company of LMG Chemicals. CIP and its subsidiaries sell their products mainly to detergent, beverage and car battery manufacturers, firms in the food, ceramics and paper industries, water concessionaires and the consumer market for its personal care products.

CIP’s consolidated revenue for the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2011 amounted to P 80.4 million, 13 percent lower than 2010’s third quarter revenue of P 92.8 million.

The company incurred a consolidated net loss of P 10.4 million in the third quarter of 2011 as against the P 20 million consolidated net income in the same period of last year.