Singapore firm plans to invest in First Gen !-- -- Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star) - May 29, 2020 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines Singaporean firm Valorous Asia Holdings Pte. Ltd.

is eyeing to invest as much as P7.3 billion in First Gen Corp. as it diversifies into the Philippines.

Valorous made a tender offer to purchase six to nine percent of the Lopez firm's total issued and outstanding shares, representing 215.87 million to 323.81 million common shares of First Gen. At P22.50 apiece, this will cost Valorous at least P4.88 billion and P7.29 billion at most.

Valorous said the tender offer period started Wednesday and would end on June 24. It may be extended with prior approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Incorporated in Singapore last March 16, Valorous is a holding company.

Its parent firm KKR Asia Pacific Infrastructure Holdings Pte. Ltd.

is under KKR and Co. Inc.

, a global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic partners that manage hedge funds. In an emailed response to The STAR, KKR said First Gen is its first investment in the country.

"This investment would be an extension of KKR's successful track record in Southeast Asia, including in the Philippines, where KKR has invested in Metro Pacific Hospitals, the country's largest private hospitals operator and healthcare network, and in Voyager Innovations, a leading technology company," Valarous said. KKR invested Voyager in 2018 and in the hospital unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

(MPIC) in October last year. It believes the combination of its industry knowledge, investment experience, and operational expertise provides the firm with an edge in identifying and creating value in investment opportunities with First Gen.

"We greatly admire First Gen as a preeminent company in the Philippines and have great respect for the Lopez family for building this strong, well-established company. KKR has made this tender offer in good faith and would welcome the opportunity to be a minority investor available to positively engage with First Gen's management team and the Lopez family as helpful in the future," KKR partner and Asia Pacific infrastructure head David Luboff said.

© Pakistan Press International, source Asianet-Pakistan