RRHI buys back stake from minority shareholder for P15.77 billion

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May 31, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Gokongwei-owned Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI) has bought back shares held by GCH Investments Pte. Ltd. in the company for P15.77 billion.

In a stock exchange filing, RRHI said it has reacquired 315.31 million common shares, representing 22.2 percent of common shares belonging to GCH, at P50 apiece under a special block sale.

RRHI, whose share price closed at P36.70 apiece on May 29, said the buyback transaction is a strategic move to optimize capital allocation and create more value for its stakeholders.

Further, the company said the ongoing share repurchase program reflects its belief that current market prices do not fully reflect the underlying financial strength and long-term growth prospects of RRHI.

GCH, a subsidiary of DFI Retail Group, became a minority shareholder of RRHI in 2018 when RRHI acquired a 100 percent stake of Rustan Supercenters Inc. (RSCI) via a share-for-share swap transaction with DFI.

DFI further increased its stake in the company when it purchased secondary shares from members of the Gokongwei family and the market to reach 20 percent stake in RRHI at the time.

RRHI president and CEO Stanley Co said that DFI has been instrumental in the company’s growth over the last few years.

“Our acquisition of RSCI in 2018 and Rose Pharmacy in 2020 from DFI has allowed us to enter the premium food retail business and expand our drugstore presence in the Visayas and Mindanao  as we added The Marketplace, Shopwise and Rose Pharmacy into our portfolio,” Co said.

“This partnership has also paved the way for RRHI to become the exclusive distributor of DFI’s private label brands – Meadows and Guardian – in the country. For this, we are deeply grateful for the partnership we have forged with DFI through the years,” he said.

Co said that RRHI’s arrangement with DFI to exclusively distribute the Meadows and Guardian brands in the country would continue following the transaction.

“These brands continue to gain traction in the market, and are a testament to our shared commitment in providing consumers innovative and affordable options. We remain firmly aligned with our commercial objectives and look forward to strengthening this collaboration in the years to come,” he said.

The transaction was executed via a special block sale on the Philippine Stock Exchange, following the fulfillment of closing conditions.

RRHI said the transaction price was determined through mutual agreement between both parties, taking into account prevailing market conditions and strategic considerations.

RRHI funded the share repurchase through a combination of internal resources and external borrowings, while maintaining ample financial flexibility after the buyback.

As one of the country’s largest multi-format retailers, RRHI currently has an expansive network of food stores, drugstores, department stores, DIY stores and specialty stores.

As of end-March, RRHI has 2,448 stores consisting of 760 food stores, 1,131 drugstores, 50 department stores, 225 DIY stores and 282 specialty stores.

The company also has 2,116 franchised stores of TGP.

For this year, RRHI is aiming for 130 to 170 net store additions with estimated capital expenditures of P5 billion to P7 billion.

The company is also eyeing two to four percent same store sales growth and 20 to 30 basis points gain on gross margins for 2025.