A Brown Co. acquires foreign investment advisory company

Listed firm A Brown Company Inc. has moved to acquire a foreign investment advisory company as part of its plan to participate in some of the country's infrastructure projects.

In a filing with the local bourse on Tuesday, A Brown Co. disclosed that it is acquiring 100 percent of the outstanding equity of Blaze Capital Limited from Penryn Limited.

"The acquisition of Blaze Capital Limited will pave the way for A Brown Company Inc. to participate and take the lead in railway infrastructure projects," A Brown told the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

Blaze Capital is an independent investment advisory firm.

According to A Brown, the acquisition will likewise increase the investment of the company and will increase revenue as return on the investment in the future.

The deal is seen to cost US$1.5 million or P75 million.

It was in November last year when A Brown announced that together with its consortium partners, it has entered into a cooperation agreement with MTD Philippines, a subsidiary of infrastructure conglomerate Alloy MTD of Malaysia, for the development of the Philippine National Railway East-West Rail Project.

The project proposal was prepared by East-West Rail Transit Corporation (EWRTC), the consortium formed by A Brown and Private Equity Investment and Development (PEID) Corporation with Systra Philippines (member of the Systra Group of France) providing the technical assistance.

It will be proposed to Philippine National Railways (PNR) to alleviate the worsening traffic conditions in Metro Manila.

A Brown President Roel Castro said the project aims to provide a “hasslefree service” for the commuters.

“For a number of reasons, we’re seeing a lot of problems in the existing trains right now,” he said. “Mass transportation is among the important infrastructure projects that are need-based, and we see a great opportunity there. This is all part of A Brown’s platform for contributing to the country’s development via infrastructure projects. There’s power, water, and transportation.”