Dennis Uy buys PH FamilyMart from ALI, partner
Dennis Uy, one of the country’s newest young billionaires, continues to be on a buying binge; this time acquiring the Philippine FamilyMart (PFM) convenience store business from giants Ayala Land Inc., Tantoco family and Itochu Corporation.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Uy’s Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to acquire the third largest convenience store brand in the country.
The MOU was signed between Phoenix Petroleum and SIAL CVS Retailers, Inc., FamilyMart Co., Ltd. and ITOCHU for the planned 100 percent acquisition of PFM.
SIAL, a 50-50 joint venture company between ALI Capital Corp. (a 100 percent subsidiary of ALI) and SSI Group, Inc. (SSI), currently owns 60 percent of PFM, while Japanese companies FamilyMart and ITOCHU own 37.6 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
The acquisition will be subject to the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission.
Phoenix Petroleum’s potential acquisition of PFM complements its retail fuel business, with 518 stations nationwide, and marks its entry into the fastgrowing domestic convenience retail market.
“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 Petroleum President Dennis Uy.
PFM is engaged in operating convenience stores under the trademark “FamilyMart” in company-owned and franchiseowned formats in the Philippines. It currently has 67 stores in Luzon.
The PFM stores offer a range of products and services including ready to eat or fast food items, convenience store items, auto-loading, bills payment, and ATM services.
SSI President Anthony T. Huang said “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.”
ALI Senior Vice-President Jose Emmanuel H. Jalandoni added that “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.”