Ayala Corp. buys 15% stake in Myanmar firm

AYALA Corp. announced on Tuesday it had completed the first tranche of its stake acquisition in Myanmarbased Yoma Strategic Holdings Inc. ( YSH).

In a disclosure, the listed conglomerate said the tranche represented a 14.9-percent ownership share worth $108.6 million.

The second tranche, which is yet to be executed, represents a 5.1-percent stake worth $46.4 million.

Total investment is set at $155 million.

“The completion of the YSH transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent, including approvals by the Singapore Exchange of the listing of the YSH shares to be subscribed to,” Ayala Corp. said.

YSH is one of two firms under the Yoma Group, in which Ayala is looking to buy a 20-percent stake. The other is First Myanmar Investment Public Co. Ltd. (FMI)

Ayala’s investment would be placed through a $ 82.5- million convertible loan. The investing entity is VIP Infrastructure Holdings Pte. Ltd.

“The completion of the FMI transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent, including approvals by the Central Bank of Myanmar of the convertible loan,” Ayala said.

Ayala said investing in the Myanmar-based firms was in line with its vision of reaching more foreign markets. To date, the firm has reached Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Australia, Europe, the United States and Mexico.

“Myanmar is an underpenetrated frontier market with a promising economic growth story, supported by its government’s broad liberalization initiatives,” it said.

Ayala shares dropped by P9.50 or 1.13 percent to close at P831.50 apiece on Tuesday.