San Miguel, Nestle broaden alliance

MANILA, Philippines,, Dec. 8 -- Philippine food and beverage conglomerate San Miguel Corp. and Nestle S.A. of Switzerland have expanded their partnership with a merger of subsidiaries.

San Miguel said its ice cream line, Magnolia Nestle Corp. will be merged in the first quarter of 1996 into Nestle Philippines Inc. Officials said the new partnership will enable the partners to pool resources and draw synergies more efficiently. Nestle and San Miguel also aim to develop and introduce to the Philippine market some of Nestle's globally successful products, including sauces, confectioneries and pasta. Both firms have agreed to maintain their share holdings in NPI -- 45 percent for San Miguel and 55 percent for Nestle.