Ayala Corporation (AC), a listed conglomerate on the Philippine Stock Exchange said on Thursday that it has obtained the approval from Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to acquire a significant stake in BF Jade E-Services Inc., which owns online fashion retailer Zalora.
PCC is the country’s anti-trust body, which is mandated under the Philippine Competition act to review mergers and acquisitions valued at P1 billion and above to ensure that the deals will not affect the interest of consumers and businesses.
According to Ayala Group, it has acquired a total of 49 percent stake in BF Jade E-Service made through its wholly owned subsidiaries.
Ayala Corp. acquired more than 269 million shares, equivalent to a 43.28 percent stake in BF Jade. Meanwhile, Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), BPI Capital Corp, and Kickstart Ventures Inc. purchased the remaining stakes of the online platform
The acquisition price was not disclosed, but according to statements by Ayala Corp. and ALI, the total amount was less than 10 percent of Ayala’s shareholders’ equity.
This acquisition come as part of the company’s strategy to invest in new disruptive businesses that provide innovative solutions to evolving markets.
“The investment demonstrates how we, at Ayala, look at innovation and growth opportunities,” said Ayala Corporation Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala.
“We see potential of e-commerce in the country and believe that the Ayala group can benefit and add tremendous value to Zalora. With resources in banking, real estate, and telecommunication, the investment presents new opportunities for Ayala to generate synergies throughout the e-commerce value chain.”
Zalora Philippines was co-founded in 2012 as part of the global network of the Zalora Group. It is currently the country’s largest online fashion store offering more than 120,000 products across 1,000 brands in accessories, beauty, clothing, shoes, and sports such as Nike, Adidas, and CLN.
