Lopezes mull selling shares in Meralco to Pangilinan group

Manila Bulletin

January 27, 2011, 3:25am

MANILA, Philippines, Jan. 26 (PNA) -- The Lopez family may divest its remaining stake in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) if the Pangilinan group will offer a more attractive price.

"We might sell it at a certain price [to the Pangilinan group]. It has to be above P300 per share," Oscar M. Lopez, chairman emeritus of First Philippine Holdings Corp. told reporters on the sidelines of the Philippine Business for Social Progress' 40th anniversary on Tuesday night.

Lopez said his company and Manuel V. Pangilinan, the chairman of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Metro Pacific Investment Corp. (MPIC), has an agreement for the remaining 6 percent shares in Meralco.

"He is always a first priority on this," Lopez said, referring to Pangilinan.

In March, the PLDT group and the Lopezes forged an agreement that assures both camps control of Meralco should either party decides to let go of their interests in the utility.

Share prices of Meralco on Wednesday were down to P272 per share from Tuesday's P276.

He, however, said that at the moment "we want to hold the shares as a legacy from my father. As long as we maintain a seat on the board."

At present, the Pangilinan group's total shares in Meralco stand at 41.1 percent.

San Miguel, on the other hand, owns a 27-percent stake it bought from state-run Government Service Insurance System. Along with its allies, San Miguel is said to control around 43 percent of Meralco.

The Pangilinan group acquired Meralco to generate a number of operational synergies.

Earlier, Meralco, in cooperation with PLDT unit Smart Communications Inc., announced the launch of Meralco Mobile Services, which will have a pilot run in selected areas and will be made available to Meralco customers starting 2010.

Services to be made available for the pilot run are broadcast of pre-determined power interruption schedules, emergency interruptions, typhoon-related safety tips, business center locations and a customer feedback facility.

Once fully operational, other services to be offered include meter reading notification, billing details, bill due date reminders, power outage restoration feedback, among others.