DOUBLEDRAGON Corp.’s planned acquisition of a 35-percent stake in MerryMart Consumer Corp. is expected to complement the group’s ecosystem as it continues to transition to an investment holding company structure.
“The acquisition of MerryMart that generates over P7 billion of recurring revenues annually mainly from essential retail (such as grocery and pharmacy) and other consumer related businesses would complement the ecosystem of DoubleDragon Corp. as an investment holding company,” it told the bourse on Friday.
Both DoubleDragon and MerryMart confirmed that the P1.2 billion-deal had been approved by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), with the notification that the transaction was unlikely to substantially lessen market competition received on Feb. 2.
DoubleDragon said the acquisition was expected to create long-term value and synergy for the group as it expands beyond its traditional property portfolio.
It noted that MerryMart operated various retail and wholesale formats and had pharmacy subsidiaries that were among the major players in Quezon in Luzon and Zamboanga in Mindanao, aside from operating a “dominant” grocery business in Capiz province.
The company expects MerryMart to further complement its existing investments, which include provincial community malls, office buildings, warehouse complexes and hotels under its asset-light Hotel101 brand.
“The acquisition is also in line with the transition of DoubleDragon into an investment holding company” in accordance with the vision of its chairman Edgar Injap Sia II and co-chairman Tony Tan Caktiong, the company said.
This transition is said to have begun in 2021 when the company changed its corporate name from DoubleDragon Properties Corp. to DoubleDragon Corp. and amended its articles of incorporation as part of a long-term strategy to expand into high-growth sectors.
DoubleDragon noted that it was triple-A credit rated company with total assets of more than P190 billion with a long-term goal of reaching P500 billion in revenues by 2035.
The company’s shares closed up by nine centavos, or 0.98 percent, at P9.26 each on Friday, while those of MerryMart surged 12.2 percent, or 50 centavos, to P0.46 apiece.
