Metro Pacific is not just in infrastructures like tollways but has ventured into agribusiness by partnering with Carmen’s Best Group of Bay, Laguna to help the country attain sufficiency in dairy. Carmen’s Best is noted for its pricey but premium ice creams.
Noted for its pricey but premium, Carmen’s Best Ice Cream, the dairy group from Bay, Laguna was acquired up to 51 percent (equity infusion) by the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. for it’s the Laguna Creamery Inc.
The objective of MPIC is to reduce the reliance on imported dairy products, according to MPIC chairman/president/CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan during a press briefing.
“Carmen’s Best concept has always been to start from the farm all the way to consumers. That’s the kind of model we would like to see,” he added.
MPIC partnered with Carmen’s Best Group, which consists of Carmen’s Best Dairy Products, Inc., Carmen’s Best International Dairy Co., Inc., Real Fresh Dairy Farms, Inc., and The Laguna Creamery, Inc., as it hopes to “further develop and expand the operations of its dairy farm and dairy products manufacturing facilities,” MPIC said in a statement.
The group is the maker of Carmen’s Best Ice Cream and the Philippines’ only locally pasteurized and homogenized fresh milk, Holly’s Milk.
“Under the partnership, the Carmen’s Best Group will integrate its assets and operations into The Laguna Creamery, Inc. (TLCI), with MPIC owning a 51 percent equity interest in TLCI and the Carmen’s Best Group retaining a 49 percent equity interest,” MPIC added.
June Cheryl A. Cabal-Revilla, MPIC’s chief finance, risk, and sustainability officer, said at the briefing that the listed company will be investing P198 million in TLCI. The transaction values Carmen’s Best at P288 million.
“The agricultural sector presents a wide range of possibilities that can help us achieve several goals — to strengthen the food supply chain and augment the accessibility of resources for all Filipinos as well as provide more opportunities for growth in an otherwise underserved business,” Business World quoted MVP as saying.
“Ultimately, the country should aim for substantial independence in food. And we must feed our people first,” he added.
MPIC and Carmen’s Best intend to transform TLCI into a fully integrated dairy business.
TLCI will serve local demand and eventually compete globally, according to MPIC.
“Carmen’s Best has always had family at the heart of its brand — from the humble beginnings of my father and his friend’s dairy farming project, to the touch of creativity I added to turn it into a modest ice cream business,” said Francisco Delgado Magsaysay, Carmen’s Best’s chief executive officer.
“This union makes us appreciative that MPIC sees the value of what we already built, while also elevating Carmen’s Best to a level beyond what we envisioned,” he added.
Tags: #MPIC, #Carmen’sBestGroup, #dairybusiness, #dairysufficiency, #agriculture