Singapore fund buys 30% of ISM

MANILA, Philippines — A Singapore fund management company is buying a 30 percent stake in listed ISM Communications Corp., a company now partly owned by businessman Dennis Uy.

ISM Communications told the local bourse yesterday that its executive committee approved the purchase by Accion Common Development Fund SPC of all of the company’s 841.945 million treasury shares at P1.45 apiece for P1.22 billion.

ISM’s management is mandated to execute the sales and purchase documents not later than the end of September.

Once the sale is completed, Accion will own 30.07 percent of the resulting outstanding capital of ISM.

Accion is a special purpose company owned, controlled, and managed by Accion Management Pte. Ltd., a registered fund management company based in Singapore.

Early this month, ISM announced that its executive committee approved the subscription by Dennison Holdings Corp. to all of the company’s unissued common shares at a subscription price of P1.45 per share or P1.28 billion.

Dennison is a domestic company owned and controlled by Uy.

ISM was originally a mining company incorporated in March 1925 under the name Itogon-Suyoc Mines Inc. In the early 2000s, ISM was transformed into a company engaged in information technology, multimedia telecommunications, and other similar industries.

On Nov. 11, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the amendment of the articles of incorporation of ISM to reflect its primary purpose as a holding company.