East Coast Vulcan Corp, formerly listed Vulcan Industrial and Mining Corp., said Friday its major shareholders have entered into a deal to transfer 496 million shares to Techno-Asia Construction and Development Inc.
The share block is equivalent to a 7.33 percent stake in the company, which has nickel mining operations in Dinagat Island.
The transfer of shares held by Mayor Hilario Pagauitan of Sta Maria, Isabela and his wife Sofia to Techno-Asia will increase the public float of East Coast Vulcan to 21.8 percent, above the 20 percent requirement of the Philippine Stock Exchange for listed companies.
The public float dropped to 14.4 percent after the takeover of the Pagauitan spouses HGP Group. Hilario and Sofia are the chairman and vice chairman of East Asia Vulcan, respectively.
Financial details of the deal weren’t immediately disclosed.
Aside from the stocks sold by the Pagauitans, East Asia Vulcan plans to privately place as much as 250 million of the 550 million shares it set aside for fund raising to further boost the public float.
Public ownership in East Asia Vulcan used to stand around 40 percent.
