Greenergy acquires 26% of AgriNurture

MANILA, Philippines - Greenergy Holdings Inc. has bought a 26 percent stake in publicly-listed agri trading firm AgriNurture Inc. (ANI) to further diversify its renewable energy portfolio.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Greenergy said it executed a subscription agreement for 85.9 million shares at P3 per share or P258 million worth of shares.

Greenergy said the purchase is specifically made “for the diversification of the portfolio of the company to other ‘green’ projects.”

ANI has diversified into various agro-commercial businesses, specifically focusing on the export trading of fresh Philippine carabao mango, cavendish banana and pineapple under the FCA brand, as well as coconut water under the La Natural brand, which constitute ANI’s main export revenue stream. ANI operates in the Greater China region, Australia and Europe through its subsidiaries and/or joint venture partners.

In the domestic front, ANI operates through its direct and indirect subsidiaries spread across its business groups under the farm-to-plate model, including First Class Agriculture Corp. which distributes fresh produce to various channels under the FCA brand.

Through its subsidiaries, ANI owns canning and tetra facilities in the export processing zone and fruit processing and banana farms in Mindanao, as well as engages in rice milling integrated with micro-financing of farmers in partnership with China’s biggest agricultural firm, Beidahuang.

ANI is also a majority owner of The Big Chill Inc., a company engaged in the business of selling beverages and food products under brands Big Chill, Fresh Bar, C’Verde, Super Fresh, Fresh Choice and Tully’s Coffee.

Registered in 1992, Greenergy Holdings is a publicly-listed firm which has evolved from a semiconductors company into a holding company.

In 2010, the company ventured into other business opportunities such as renewable energy.

As part of its growth strategy, the company retained 39-percent interest in its semiconductor business, Music Semiconductors Philippines Inc., and divested its interests in foreign subsidiaries Music Semiconductors Inc., Musem Electronic N.V. and Protelcon Inc.

In 2011, the company agreed on the establishment of a $1.3-billion joint venture with Chinese firm Tianjin Tianbao Investment and Development Corp. to engage in wind energy projects worth to $200 million.

The company has also agreed to acquire 51-percent of Total Waste Management Recovery System Inc., a domestic corporation engaged in the business of building, operating and managing waste recovery facilities and waste management systems within the Philippines.

In 2012, the company established certain subsidiaries to further mark its venture into the field of renewable energy. These subsidiaries are wholly-owned Winsun Green Ventures Inc. and 60-percent owned Biomass Holdings Inc. (BHC).

BHC is the product of the company’s partnership with Cleantech Projektgesellschaft mbH, a German fund managed by ThomasLloyd Global Asset Management (Switzerland) AG of Zurich. It serves as the joint venture vehicle of the parties in their investment transactions in the biomass power plant of San Carlos BioPower Inc. in Negros.