MANILA, Philippines - Retail tycoon Lucio Co is in talks to acquire Mariwasa Siam Holdings Inc.

In a disclosure, Mariwasa Siam Holdings said the company has been approached and in talks with several groups, including Co.

"However, nothing formal has been agreed upon," it said.

Mariwasa was reacting to a report from the Philippine Daily Inquirer's Biz Buzz column, which said that Co is looking at Mariwasa as a backdoor listing vehicle for his other business interests, particularly in power. Co's Union Energy Corp. had earlier partnered with renewable energy developer Sta. Clara Power Corp. for a project in Oriental Mindoro.

Co, who is the seventh richest in the country with an estimated net worth of $ 2 billion, already owns one listed company Puregold Price Club.

Mariwasa said there were changes in its articles of incorporation and by-laws "anchored mainly on the fact that it is now held by a new group of majority stockholders who would reasonably like to establish a corporate identity that is distinct from the previous one." The company has also extended its corporate term to allow it to continue its corporate existence.

Mariwasa recently has been reorganized into an investment holding firm, after Thailand’s Siam Cement Public Co. Ltd. unloaded its stake in the company.