The Ayala and Tantoco groups have signed a deal to sell the Philippine convenience store chain business under the FamilyMart brand to Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc., the petroleum distribution arm of Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy.

Philippine FamilyMart CVS Inc. (PFM) is the official Philippine franchisee of the Family Mart brand of convenience stores in the Philippines, with a current network of 67 company-owned and franchised stores all over the country.

“Philippine FamilyMart has built a reputation for convenience and fresh, quality offerings. We are pleased to have it as a strategic addition to the group as we broaden our products and services and offer greater convenience to our customers,” said Phoenix president and chief executive officer Dennis Uy.

Phoenix is the leading independent and fastest-growing oil company in the Philippines, with a wide network of retail stations and commercial and industrial clients all over the Philippines.

Shares of Phoenix – the day’s most actively traded company at the local stock market – rose by 0.7 percent to close at P11.50 per share on Monday after the deal was announced. This gave it a market capitalization of P15.54 billion. This was as its potential acquisition of PFM is seen to complement its retail fuel business, with 518 stations nationwide.

The acquisition also marks Uy’s entry into the fast-growing domestic convenience retail market.

SIAL CVS Retailers Inc. currently owns 60 percent of PFM while Japanese companies FamilyMart Co., Ltd. and ITOCHU Corporation, own 37.6 percent and 2.4 percent respectively.

SIAL CVS is a 50-50 joint venture company between ALI Capital Corp., a 100-percent subsidiary of Ayala Land Inc., and SSI Group Inc.

“We are proud to have introduced FamilyMart to the Philippines. Filipinos have really embraced the convenience store format and FamilyMart is well positioned as one of the top CVS brands in the

country,” said Anthony Huang, SSI president and chief executive officer.

Jose Emmanuel H. Jalandoni, Ayala Land senior vice-president, said: “We are delighted that Phoenix Petroleum shares our vision for the continued growth of the FamilyMart brand in the Philippines. We believe that they have a robust platform for taking FamilyMart to the next level and will be excellent stewards of the brand moving forward.”

The sale transaction will be subject to the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission. A memorandum of understanding on the transaction was signed on Oct. 30.

UBS AG Hong Kong Branch acted as financial adviser to the sellers in this transaction.

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