Phillipines' San Miguel plans $2.7bn share sale

San Miguel Corporation has announced it plans to sell a $2.7bn stake in its food and beverage unit San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc.

The firm, which is one of the Philippine’s largest and most diversified conglomerates, said it will sell up to 1.02bn shares as part of its parent firm’s asset restructuring plan.

The share sale, the largest ever secondary offering in the country, comes as the firm tries to invest and strengthen its food and beverage business.

San Miguel Corp. said that it aims to sell shares at P140 ($2.6) per share.

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“Our principal long-term goal is to further strengthen and solidify our position as the leading food and beverage company in the Philippines,” the business unit said in a filing.

The move comes as the conglomerate pursues an aggressive expansion plan, that also involves venturing into infrastructure, mining, petroleum and power generation markets to boost its revenues.

The food and beverage unit has hired JPMorgan, UBS, Deutsche Bank, BDO Capital, and BPI Capital for the share sale.

Following the announcement, shares of San Miguel rose 12.7% to their highest since 2011.

Meanwhile, shares of San Miguel Food and Beverage jumped 16%.

San Miguel — the Philippines’ biggest brewer — has also previously outlined that it plans to invest at least $1bn in the next two years to develop 10 breweries and grow its presence in key markets.