Shareholders group seek improvement in share price determination

MANILA, Philippines - The Shareholders Association of the Philippines, a group that promotes the rights of minority shareholders in the country, will propose to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) ways to improve the determination of share prices in cases of tender offer for voluntary delisting.

SharePhil president Francis Lim said one way to improve valuation is for the PSE to be the one to hire a third party that could provide a fair and accurate valuation instead of the listed company itself.

This will be in contrast to the common practice wherein the listed company itself will be the one to hire the third party service provider.

“SharePhil will propose that it will be the PSE who will hire at the expense of company,” Lim told reporters.

Another option is to amend the Securities Regulation Code but this, Lim said, would take time.

The group has been receiving requests for help from minority shareholders, including those of Liberty Telecoms Holdings Inc., who are locked in a row with the  company’s new owners whose buyout price for their shares was deemed too low.

Vega Telecom Inc., which is now controlled by PLDT and Globe, launched the current tender offer for shares held by the minority last August 24. The offer will end this month.

PLDT and Globe now control Vega after they jointly acquired the telco holding company of San Miguel Corp. and two related telco assets for P70 billion last May.

Vega offered a P2.20 per share tender offer price but minority shareholders said the shares should be valued at closer to P5 a share.

The minority shareholders are contesting how the company was valued since a fairness opinion and valuation report did not take into account Liberty’s valuable 700 megahertz radio frequencies.

Likewise, SharePhil chairperson Evelyn Singson said minority shareholders of Splash Corp. also complained about the tender offer price.

Splash will delist from the exchange and has launched a tender offer at P3.10 per share, which it said was fair and reasonable.

Splash made the disclosure in response to queries from some stockholders on how it arrived at its tender offer price of P3.10.

The company is doing a tender offer because it is targeting to delist from the PSE on October 7. It commenced a tender offer to shareholders for all 158 million publicly owned common shares on July 18 and which will end on Sept. 20.