Meralco sizzles, shareholder tussle not over

Reuters

MANILA - Manuel V. Pangilinan, one of the Philippines' most powerful corporate figures, looks to have gained the upper hand in the fight to own Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), ensuring the utility's shares will keep rising as the takeover tussle continues.

The closely followed battle for control over Meralco, the Philippines' largest power retailer holding an extensive fibre optic network, pits Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT, against Ramon Ang, president of San Miguel Corp.

Pangilinan, the chairman of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., recently bought half the 13.4% Meralco stake held by First Philippine Holdings Corp.

With the $471 million buy, Pangilinan upped his shares in the company and allowed his allies, the Lopez business clan who own First Holdings, to keep a hand in the business they have been running for decades.

Pangilinan is not ready to stop buying and neither is Ang's group. Analysts say the takeover fight will spill over to the open market and persist until a shareholder group ends up with at least 50.1% of Meralco.

"The freefloat is less than 10%, I'm sure both of them are looking for whoever is holding those shares," said an analyst from a foreign equities house who asked for anonymity for lack of authority to speak to the media.

"One thing is for sure, until somebody gets to 51%, Meralco's share price will be high, because it will be accumulated," the analyst said. Read More...