Berjaya hikes stake in SEM
BERJAYA Philippines, Inc. on Thursday said it increased its stake in the Malaysian operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores for P62.76 million.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the company engaged in the leasing of online lottery equipment as well as the local distribution of Mazda motor vehicles said it purchased 3.9 million shares from 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Berhad ( SEM), which represents 0.35% of the latter’s total outstanding shares. This brings Berjaya Philippines’ equity interest in the company to 0.53%.
SEM, through its unit 7-Eleven Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., owns and operates over 2,100 convenience stores all over Malaysia under the 7-Eleven brand.
“The SEM shares were acquired free from all encumbrances and the acquisition was funded from the Issuer’s internal funds,” the company said.
The transaction was made from June 14-28 in the open market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad.
Berjaya Philippines said the transaction was made “for investment purposes.”
Earnings of Berjaya Philippines dipped by 31% in the May 2016 to January 2017 period to P382.01 million, as it saw losses in the sale of Mazda vehicles through unit Berjaya Auto Philippines, Inc.
Shares in Berjaya climbed by 23 centavos or 4.27% to close at P5.62 each on Thursday. —