Listed Company MRC Allied is Buying 31% of Rappler

Listed MRC Allied, Inc. (MRC), a holding and real estate company, is getting into online publishing. On Thursday (April 4), the company announced it is buying into the digital news platform Rappler. 

MRC said it is purchasing the 31.2 percent ownership interest of Dolphin Group Inc., one of the primary shareholders of Rappler Holdings Corp. MRC said it is making the purchase through a share swap scheme, where MRC will utilize either its available Authorized Capital Stocks or Subscribed Capital Stock as a consideration for the shares of DFGI.

The other shareholders of Rappler Holdings Corp are Maria Ressa, which owns 23.8 percent, Hatchd Group at 17.9 percent, Benjamin So at 17.9 percent, while te remaining 9.3 percent is held by minority shareholders.

After the acquisition is finalized, MRC will become the largest single shareholder of Rappler Holdings Corp.

“MRC and DFGI, within a period of ten (10) days, from the approval of this resolutions will jointly secure Third-Party Valuation of the shares of DFGI in Rappler Holdings Corporation through a reputable auditing firm or financial advisor which will be the basis of the purchase price,” the company said in a disclosure with the Philippine Stock Exchange. “The purchase transaction will be closed within a period of thirty (30) days from the date of the Third-Party Valuation Report.

“The purchase transaction will allow MRC to expand into the fast-growing local digital online platform industry,” the company added. 

What is MRC Allied?

MRC Allied was founded in 1990 as a mining company engaged in the processing and export of natural rubber. However, it has since amended its business to real estate and, as of 2008, into a holding company.

In its most recent annual report in 2023, MRC said its principal asset comprises two land banks: a 160-hectare industrial estate in Naga City, Cebu and 700 hectares of raw land in San Isidro Municipality, Leyte.

Located 35 kilometers away from the Mactan International Airport, the industrial estate in Naga City, known as the New Cebu Township One (NCTO), is registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority as a special economic zone. The Leyte Property, meanwhile, is known as the Amihan Woodlands Township (AWT) and was originally planned as an eco-tourism project. No major development of the property, however, has been undertaken.

MRC said it was negatively affected by the Asian Crisis of 1997 and essentially maintained minimal operations since then.

The company is also involved in renewable energy through its subsidiary Menlo Renewable Energy Corporation and other affiliates. 

MRC is currently chaired by Jimmy Yaokasin while its board of directors is comprised of Augusto Cosio Jr., Bernard Rabanzo, Alma Buntua, James Velsquez, and Gopal Sham Daswani and Emmanuel Veloso (the latter two are independent directors).

The company’s president and CEO is Augusto Cosio, was appointed in 2018. Cosio has had a long career as an investment banker. He worked for global investment banks such as Deutsche Bank and BNP-Paribas in places like Hong Kong and Singapore. He was also the president of the George Ty-owned First Metro Asset Management Inc. for nine years.