The majority of Philex Mining Corp.’s board of directors Wednesday approved the sale of a 20-percent stake in company to Hong Kong-based conglomerate First Pacific Co. Ltd. for P6 billion.

The sale earned the ire of the state-run pension fund Social Security System (SSS), which wrote Philex that the shares should have been offered first to it as a shareholder with preemptive rights.

Philex chairman Walter Brown said the deal would push through because the majority of the board was satisfied the sale.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Philex said six of the seven directors present at a special board meeting Wednesday “confirmed, ratified and approved the sale” of 778.44 million shares to First Pacific.

SSS president Romulo Neri, also a director of Philex representing the pension fund, was the lone board member who voted against the transaction, Philex said in the disclosure.

Philex said its board believed that the action taken by Neri was adverse to the interests of the corporation and its shareholders.

“By a vote of six out of seven directors present, the board thus adopted a resolution to request the SSS to recall the nomination of Mr. Neri as director of the corporation due to violation of his fiduciary duties,” Philex corporate secretary Barbara Migallos said.

Philex said the six directors who gave their consent to the First Pacific investment believed that the deal was beneficial to the corporation and its shareholders, including the SSS, the biggest benefit being the additional cash of more than P6 billion. The amount, it said, could be used to finance the development of its Boyongan project in Surigao and the exploration of various claims.

Philex also said its management had consulted external and internal lawyers as well as its corporate secretary and they were all in the opinion that a preemptive right does not apply in this case.

The company also said independent director Guido Delgado, a former president of National Power Corp., opined that the entry of a strategic partner willing to invest a substantial amount in the company was “highly beneficial” to the corporation and its stockholders. With editing by INQUIRER.net