DoubleDragon Corp. is moving ahead with its takeover of MerryMart Consumer Corp. after securing regulatory clearance, tightening its hold on the retail sector as it accelerates its transition into a diversified investment holding company.
The Philippine Competition Commission cleared the acquisition, paving the way for DoubleDragon’s mandatory tender offer from May 18 to June 16.
Under the offer, MerryMart shareholders will receive P0.48 per share, payable half in cash and half in DoubleDragon shares valued at P9.30 each. The tender price is 20 percent above MerryMart’s latest market price of P0.40 per share as of May 8.
DoubleDragon noted that the valuation attached to its shares remains around 52 percent below its latest book value of P19.21 per share.
The acquisition will add more than P7 billion in recurring annual revenues to the DoubleDragon Group, driven mainly by MerryMart’s grocery, pharmacy, and consumer retail operations. The move also deepens DoubleDragon’s presence in provincial markets, where MerryMart maintains a strong grocery business in Capiz and a growing pharmacy network across Luzon and Mindanao.
The transaction highlights DoubleDragon’s continuing pivot beyond property development — a strategy laid out by Chairman Edgar Injap Sia II and Co-Chairman Tony Tan Caktiong when the company rebranded as an investment holding firm in 2021.
The acquisition also complements DoubleDragon’s expanding portfolio of hotels, office buildings, warehouses, and community malls, anchored by its fast-growing Hotel101 business.
DoubleDragon plans to open 2,229 additional hotel rooms this year across projects in Madrid, Cebu, Davao, and Niseko, Japan. The company, which has more than P217 billion in assets and a Triple-A credit rating, said the deal supports its long-term goal of building a P500-billion revenue platform by 2035.
