PepsiCo Buys Into PCPPI Unit

Guoco Holdings Inc. (Philippines) announced today that New York-based PepsiCo has bought a 32% interest in its soft drinks unit Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines (PCPPI) for two billion pesos. The move was a reversal of the 1997 deal whereby PepsiCo sold its entire stake in PCPPI to Guoco. Allowing the holding firm to take control of the soft drink firm.

PepsiCo's investment in PCPPI was carried out through its direct subsidiary PepsiCo Global Investments II B.V. It involved a subscription to 482.5 million shares under a rights issue of two pesos per share, conversion of loans into equity and acquisition of shares from an indirect subsidiary of Guoco, according to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

"This move by PepsiCo to enhance their participation in Pepsi-Cola Philippines is expected to have a positive impact on the company's operations as the long-term fundamentals of the business will be strengthened considerably," said Daisy Parker, Guoco Holdings corporate secretary. "Pepsi's strong presence in the region will allow effective synergies in terms of marketing support, logistics and infrastructure planning."