Manuel V. Pangilinan is expanding his direct exposure to
Meralco as San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMGP) continues to unwind
its position in the country’s largest power distributor.
SMGP has agreed to sell approximately 3.77 million Meralco
common shares to Pangilinan at P580.99 per share. The transaction, valued at
about P2.19 billion, will be completed through a special block sale at the
Philippine Stock Exchange.
The shares represent roughly 0.33 percent of Meralco’s
outstanding common stock. Once completed, Pangilinan’s personal stake in the
utility will rise to approximately 0.34 percent.
The latest transaction follows a substantially larger
agreement announced the previous week, under which SMGP will sell P12.4 billion
worth of Meralco shares to Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), the
Pangilinan-led infrastructure conglomerate.
That deal is expected to lift MPIC’s ownership of Meralco to
about 49.4 percent from 47.46 percent. The increase further reinforces MPIC’s
position as Meralco’s biggest shareholder and brings its ownership closer to a
controlling threshold.
Both transactions were priced at P580.99 per share,
representing a 16.2 percent premium over Meralco’s 90-day volume-weighted
average price of P500.09 as of Sept. 30.
The pricing also underscores the significant appreciation of
the shares since SMGP acquired them from the state-owned Land Bank of the
Philippines. SMGP paid only P90 per share for approximately 46.6 million
Meralco shares, meaning the latest sale price is more than six times its
original acquisition cost.
SMGP’s ownership of the shares stemmed from a transaction
that took years to complete. The company acquired the Meralco stake from
Landbank through special block sales last year, finally resolving a deal whose
origins dated back to 2008.
Because the ownership transfer remained unresolved for an
extended period, SMGP did not receive dividends from the shares during those 17
years. The company estimates the dividends it could have collected during that
period at approximately P13 billion.
When the impact of the time value of money is considered,
SMGP places the present value of those foregone dividends at around P21
billion.
The sale therefore represents more than a simple portfolio
adjustment. It allows SMGP to crystallize substantial gains from the Meralco
investment while redirecting capital toward areas where it has a more active
operating role.
For the P12.4-billion MPIC transaction, SMGP said proceeds
will be redeployed into renewable energy projects, supporting its broader
strategy of allocating capital to businesses aligned with its long-term growth
priorities.
The transactions effectively reshape the ownership landscape around Meralco while giving SMGP additional resources to pursue its renewable energy ambitions.
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