Radio San Miguel

Signing of agreement seen next month
by Doris Dumlao

Beverage and food conglomerate San Miguel Corp. disclosed last Monday, Jan. 19 that it was negotiating sale of 43.25 percent of domestic beer unit San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB) to Japan’s second-biggest brewery, Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd., which currently owns about 20 percent of San Miguel.
At SMB’s current market capitalization, San Miguel could raise at least P54.2 billion from the sale, which it could use for its diversification ventures into mining, power and infrastructure.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, San Miguel spokesperson Ferdinand Constantino said the company had signed a memorandum of understanding to enter into exclusive negotiations with Kirin on Kirin’s potential investment in SMB.
The sale will cut San Miguel.’s stake in SMB from about 94 percent to 50.75 percent. About six percent represents the SMB public float.
SMB has a market capitalization of about P135.5 billion based on its closing price Monday of P8.80 a share. Its share price rose 3.5 percent ahead of the announcement of the talks with Kirin in the afternoon.
Analysts said Kirin’s possible entry into SMB did not come as a surprise.
Jose Mari Lacson, head of research at stockbrokerage Campos, Lanuza & Co., noted that San Miguel had earlier announced that it was bringing in a foreign strategic partner into SMB.
Kirin bought into San Miguel early this decade, long before San Miguel decided to embark on businesses outside of beverage and food. San Miguel spun off SMB in 2007.
Lacson said Kirin’s entry plan was likely in line with its drive to expand further as a regional player. In 2007 it bought San Miguel’s Australian dairy and juice manufacturer National Foods for $2.6 billion.
If Kirin succeeds in a buy-in, it may have to make a tender offer to SMB minority shareholders, said Joseph Roxas, president of Eagle Equities Inc.
Under local securities regulations, a company buying at least 35 percent of a listed company must offer the same deal to minority shareholders.
A question among some analysts is whether Kirin would keep its stake in San Miguel. In the past, a key San Miguel stockholder, the retail tycoon Henry Sy, unloaded his stake in San Miguel and invested in SMB.

As we face formidable challenges in finding new corporate partners in this economic climate, we have been blessed to partner with Cox Media and Clear Channel Radio in two separate advertising campaigns that have enabled us to promote our internship program and recruit new business partners.

In April, Cox Media began airing a commercial advertising campaign on a number of their television networks. This interactive campaign allowed viewers to use their remote controls to request more information about San Miguel’s Corporate Internship Program. Nearly two hundred requests were received during the campaign’s three-month run.

In June, San Miguel received a very generous in-kind donation from Clear Channel Radio that will enable us to run a year-long advertising campaign on any of Clear Channel’s seven radio stations. Clear Channel has given us the support of its production team which has created a series of 30-second “spots” featuring testimonials from many of our corporate partners.

These campaigns also present us with the opportunity to put our business partners in the community spotlight and let the people of Tucson know that these organizations are champions of both education and workforce development.

Welcome to the San Miguel Community Services District. The following information is provided to help you understand the water and wastewater billing and payment procedures. Please read the information carefully, and don’t hesitate to ask for assistance if you have any questions.

Water and wastewater accounts are billed every other month starting in January, so you will receive bills in the months of January, March, May, July, September and November. Bills are mailed by the 15th day of each billing month for the previous two months of usage (i.e. January 15th billing would be for November and December usage.) The minimum bi-monthly billing for water service is $26.10 for the first 1,000 cubic feet of usage with additional charges based upon each 100cf thereafter. The bi-monthly flat rate for wastewater service is $53.76. Commercial wastewater accounts shall be charged additional fees, as adopted by Ordinance of the Board of Directors, depending upon circumstances.

The San Miguel CSD cannot be responsible for late or non-delivery of billing statements by the post office. If you have not received your bill by the 25th of a billing month, please contact our office at (805) 467-3388 to check your account status. Office hours are 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, except legal holidays. The office is closed between 1:00 – 2:00 pm.