Asiabest [ABG 26.00 unch; 10% avgVol] [link] said it has executed a subscription agreement with Concrete Stone Corp. (CSC), owned by builder Francis Lloyd Chua, at a ‘discounted’ price of P15 a share, valuing the deal at P150 million. In a disclosure, ABG said it made the initial investment on 29 September 2025 through the subscription of 10 million primary common shares in CSC. The company said the transaction will provide working capital for CSC and is ‘in line with the corporation’s plan to fold CSC as its subsidiary.’ The investment is part of a broader transaction with Chua’s two firms: Industry Holdings and Development Corp. (IHDC), which manufactures construction solution materials through CSC, and Premium Lands Corp. (PLC), a developer behind the Kabalayan mass housing brand. IHDC and PLC offered to subscribe to up to 6 million new common shares in ABG at P25 apiece, valuing the deal at P15 billion, in exchange for shares in CSC, Industry Movers Corp. and/or Kabalayan, as well as ‘specified real properties.’ ABG said it will raise its authorized capital stock to accommodate the share-for-share and share-for-real-estate swap.
MB bottom-line: ABG is now owned and controlled by Francis Lloyd Chua, who also owns and controls CSC and a somewhat diversified group of other companies. This subscription by ABG basically transfers capital from ABG to CSC, that I presume CSC will use to finance the build-out of the manufacturing facility construction that it announced in August. While this stake doesn’t make CSC a subsidiary of ABG, it is in the company’s plan to acquire CSC by Q1/26, so any stake buy now will make the eventual push to acquire control that much easier. Still, since this activity all springs from a backdoor listing, we’re basically flying blind with respect to value. Is this a good move for ABG shareholders, or are they now holding Mr. Chua’s bags? We just have to wait.