House of Investments sells more shares in EEI 

THE BOARD of directors of Yuchengco-led House of Investments, Inc. has approved the sale of 14.346% of EEI Corp.’s common shares to Industry Holdings and Development Corp. (IHDC).

“IHDC’s entry as a strategic partner is deemed beneficial to EEI’s growth plans and restructuring efforts,” the listed holding firm said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

“Aside from having a partner that will improve the performance of EEI, the proceeds will be used to increase the capitalization of a subsidiary by subscribing to preferred shares in ATYC, Inc.,” it added.

The company said the move is part of efforts to review its business interests and to consolidate other businesses from the Yuchengco group of companies into House of Investments. Its board approved the block sale of 148.66-million common shares at P7.23 each for about P1.08 billion.

The transaction comes after the company announced the sale of its 20% stake in EEI to the Romualdez family-led firm RYM Business Management Corp. for P1.25 billion at P6.03 each of the 207.26 million common shares.

As a result of both sell-downs, the Yuchengcos will now own about 20.9% of EEI, which will remain as a portfolio investment of the company. EEI is one of the largest construction and contracting firms in the Philippines.

IHDC is owned by a group headed by Francis Chua, a construction engineer with established business interests in construction supply including pre-cast concrete structures, cement and aggregates, as well as investments in the logistics and real estate sectors.

Its subsidiaries include Concrete Stone Corp., which primarily manufactures pre-cast concrete and trades cement products and aggregates, and Industry Movers Corp., a company engaged in freight handling and multiple vessel operations.

To date, no agreement between the two companies has been signed.

Meanwhile, House of Investment’s board approved the acquisition of preferred shares in its wholly owned subsidiary ATYC amounting to P1 billion in exchange for 10 million preferred shares priced at P100 apiece.

The firm said that the additional investment will be used to pay the loans of ATYC, which was incorporated in 2022 and owns the A.T. Yuchengco Centre in BGC, Taguig.

“This will reduce interest payment and exposure to market risk,” it added.

Also on Monday, House of Investments reported an attributed net loss of P8.02 million in the first quarter of the year, a reversal of its P373.88-million net income a year earlier.

It incurred a quarterly loss despite revenues growing 27.1% to P6.71 billion from P5.28 billion in the same period last year. General and administrative expenses increased during the first quarter, along with interest and finance charges.

On Monday, House of Investment shares fell by 2.1% or P0.10 to close at P4.66 apiece. EEI shares declined by 1.67% or P0.10 to P5.90 each. — Adrian H. Halili