Phoenix Petroleum buys Ayala, Tantoco groups out of Family Mart

Dennis Uy's Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding to buy the Ayala and Tantoco groups out of the FamilyMart convenience store brand.

"Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire Philippine FamilyMart, the third largest convenience store brand in the country," the independent oil company told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Philippine FamilyMart CVS Inc (PFM) is the Philippine franchise holder of the Japanese convenience store brand Family Mart. It is 60-percent owned by SIAL CVS Retailers Inc., a joint venture of Ayala Land Inc. subsidiary ALI Capital Corp. and SSI Group Inc. of the Tantoco group.

Japan's FamilyMart Co. Ltd. owns 37.6 percent and ITOCHU Corp. 2.4 percent of the remaining 40 percent of PFM.

"Phoenix Petroleum's potential acquisition of PFM complements its retail fuel business, with 518 stations nationwide, and marks its entry into the fast-growing domestic convenience retail market," the company said.

While it did not disclose the transaction value, Phoenix said the deal will be subject to the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission which is mandated to review business deals valued at P1 billion and above.

"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," Phoenix president and CEO Dennis Uy said.

FamilyMart currently has over 100 stores spread across Metro Manila and Cebu, after opening its first store in the country in 2013.

"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," SSI president and CEO Anthony Huang said in a separate statement.

"We are delighted the PHOENIX Petroleum shares our vision for the continued growth of the FamilyMart brand in the Philippines. We believe they have a robust platform for taking FamilyMart to the next level and will be excellent stewards of the brand moving forward," Ayala Land Inc. senior vice president Jose Emmanuel Jalandoni said.

Phoenix Petroleum is engaged in the trading and marketing refined petroleum products. It operates oil depots and storage facilities, and is also in the business of hauling and into-plane services. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News