BIZ BUZZ: What’s next for Conti’s?
We reported here last year about the multibillion-peso deal hatched by businessman Dennis Uy of Davao to sell Conti’s Bakeshop & Restaurant and Wendy’s Philippines to entrepreneur Crystal Jacinto, who is backed by her Malaysian husband, well-connected businessman Jaya Sudhir.
The buyout of Eight8Ate Holdings Inc., holding firm for the two food retailing brands, has been finalized and a new board of directors constituted. The deal carried a price tag of about P6 billion, Biz Buzz sources estimated, equivalent to several times the annual cash flow.
And it’s not the end of the story. We gather that the new boss (guess who’s the “better half”)—who has done other big-ticket local deals you’ve heard about but preferred to keep a low profile—plans to bring Eight8Ate to the stock market, and is now working on a listing strategy. Taking the backdoor route looms as a plausible option.
Access to the capital market is seen to fast-track the expansion plan of the group, which, according to the reliable grapevine, is already on the hunt for other brands to gobble up, as well as new investors to draw additional financial muscle from.
New food retailing powerhouse aspirant, here it comes. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
PAREx hits roadblock
Tycoon Ramon Ang’s controversial Pasig River Expressway (PAREx) project has hit a major roadblock. Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) Executive Director Alvin Carullo said the project was on “indefinite suspension” as San Miguel Corp. (SMC) would have to resolve first the alignment overlap with the Pasig River Esplanade.
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But this is just one of the issues that the conglomerate—also busy with rehabilitating Ninoy Aquino International Airport—has to deal with.
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Carullo said SMC might also need to recalibrate the project, as the alignment traverses Intramuros, which will require a ton of paperwork as it is a heritage site. Ang has two options: Get the necessary permits so it can proceed with the construction, or work around it, literally.
The TRB official also said the PAREx project had yet to secure the environmental clearance certificate needed to prove that the project would have no significant adverse impact on the river ecosystem.
The PAREx project, which was approved by the government in September 2021, is a 19.37-kilometer elevated expressway traversing the banks of the entire Pasig River.
The six-lane toll road will run from Radial Road 10 in Manila to the proposed South East Metro Manila Expressway at Circumferential Road 6 in Taguig City. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad