In 1983, Enrique J. Zóbel (a third cousin of Soriano), president of Ayala Corporation and vice chairman of the SMC board, instigated a takeover of SMC. The seeds of the "family feud" lay in the refusal of the Soriano management to share corporate information with Zóbel, particularly regarding contracts that SMC management was entering into with ANSCOR, a Soriano company. Soriano viewed his third cousin Zóbel as a rival, while Zóbel (holding nearly 20% of SMC stake) viewed Soriano (with about 7%) as mismanaging the company and engaging in sweetheart deals. Unable to oust Soriano, Zóbel sold his group's 19.5% stake to businessman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., an associate of then President Ferdinand Marcos. Cojuangco's Coconut Industry Investment Fund (a.k.a., United Coconut Planters Bank) accumulated an additional 31% of SMC, giving him effective control of SMC and leaving the Soriano family with a mere 3%. Funds used by Cojuangco to acquire Zóbel's stake came from levies imposed by the Marcos dictatorship on coconut farmers. The Supreme Court has declared such levies to be public funds and therefore any assets bought using these funds are owned by coconut farmers.