First Philippine Holdings to buy pension fund stake in Meralco for 8.3 bln pesos |
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Published
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Wed, 18 Jul 2007 02:41
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MANILA (Thomson Financial) - First Philippine Holdings Corp (FPHC) said Wednesday it will raise its stake in power distributorManila Electric Co (Meralco) by buying the 6.6 percent currently held by the Meralco Pension Fund for 8.3 billion pesos.In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, FPHC said it has executed an memorandum of agreement with the Meralco Pension Fund for the stock purchase, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year.The purchase involves 28.8 million Class B common shares and 37.6 million Class A common shares in Meralco, the nation's largest power distributor.FPHC, which directly owns 3.98 percent of Meralco, is the holding company for the Lopez family's interests in power generation, distribution and infrastructure businesses in the Philippines.Earlier this month, FPHC announced that it has agreed to buy the entire 40 percent stake held by Spain's Union Fenosa Internacional SA in First Philippine Union Fenosa Inc (FPUFI), a major shareholder in Meralco, for 250 million US dollars.FPUFI, which is 60 percent-owned by FPHC, owns 230.08 million shares or a 22.86 percent stake in Meralco.FPHC has also expressed interest in acquiring the Philippine government's more than 20 pct stake in Meralco, which the government plans to divest to raise additional revenue to plug its budget deficit.(1 US dollar = 45.25 pesos)enrico.delacruz@thomson.comed/msCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
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