Top Business News

DMCI's $362-M bid tops Calaca power plant auction
[ABS-CBNNEWS]MANILA - Philippine conglomerate DMCI Holdings Inc. submitted the highest bid of $361.7 million at a state auction for the 600-megawatt Calaca coal-fired plant, the government said on Wednesday.
DMCI's offer exceeded the government's floor price, a spokesman at the power privatization agency Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) told Reuters.
It also bested the only other bidder, Banpu Power Ltd. of Thailand, which submitted a $280-million bid.
DMCI Holdings and Banpu were the only two bidders that attended the auction out of 4 qualified bidders including San Miguel Energy Corp. and Therma Power Visayas.

Abacus to consolidate assets, new businesses
[BUSINESSMIRROR]LISTED Abacus Consolidated Resources & Holdings Inc. is looking to acquire more properties in Batangas held by its affiliates in an effort to consolidate its real-estate assets, which it expects to eventually spin off into a separate subsidiary in the future.
The firm is also looking at new business ventures such as a flying school and an airport.
At the sidelines of the firm’s stockholders meeting on Thursday, Abacus corporate secretary Joaquin San Diego said the company is looking to acquire about 120 hectares from three locations, the largest of which is a 90-hectare lot in Padre Garcia, Batangas.
He said the current value of the three lots is estimated at P550 million, which will be paid entirely in the form of new unissued shares of stock. He noted that the shares, priced at P1 apiece, could be valued as much as P1 billion, although the final number may be lower.

San Miguel buys 32.7% of Liberty
[INQUIRER]MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel Corp. bought on Wednesday 32.7 percent of dormant Liberty Telecommunications Holdings Inc. for P1.88 billion as part of its foray into the highly competitive telecommunications business.
San Miguel disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that it had acquired 579.11 million shares in Liberty Telecom for P3.25 each. The acquisition of Liberty Telecom, which the conglomerate wants to use as its platform to get a piece of the country’s wireless voice call broadband business, was made through San Miguel’s wholly owned subsidiary Vega Telecom Inc.