GSIS eyes $300-M Meralco shares
MANILA, Philippines - Diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp. is selling $300 million worth of shares in power utility giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) with an option to upsize the issue to $375 million, industry sources revealed yesterday.
Sources said San Miguel is unloading 46.3 million to 48.25 million shares in Meralco at P270 per share, a 12 percent discount to Thursday’s closing price of P302.40 apiece.
Deutsche Bank is reportedly handling the share sale. The shares to be offered account for only 4.3 percent of Meralco’s outstanding shares.
A source told The STAR that the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the country’s biggest pension fund, is subscribing to the shares.
GSIS announced recently it would beef up its equity holdings of the investments in the stock market to take advantage of the current volatile market.
There was no confirmation, however, from San Miguel president Ramon Ang and GSIS president Robert Vergara.
It’s still uncertain whether the group of telecommunications magnate Manuel Pangilinan, who controls the power utility firm, would participate in the private placement of shares.
Pangilinan’s group controls about 48 percent of Meralco while the San Miguel group holds 36 percent.
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