Third time lucky?

After being revived late last year, word went around that the deal for the PLDT group’s acquisition of GMA Network Inc. was nearing completion. In fact, the buzz reached a frenzy just before Christmas week when information surfaced that both parties had agreed on a price of P48 billion for a lock-stock-and-barrel deal for the country’s second largest broadcast firm.

The price is a few billion pesos lower than the P54 billion the PLDT group reportedly offered GMA7’s three controlling families—the Gozons, Duavits and the Jimenezes—during the last round of talks two years ago that ultimately broke down.

The issue then was a disagreement over which party (whether the buyer or seller) would shoulder the costs of hurdling the roadblocks that would be put in the way of the acquisition or eventual merger by either regulators or corporate rivals.

That particular disagreement has been ironed out, we’re told, with the PLDT group supposedly agreeing to keep GMA7 (in the event of an acquisition) a separate entity from the financially hemorrhaging TV5. Keeping both TV stations separate would also help preserve the value of the franchise of both firms.

Apparently, since the failure of the last round of talks, both GMA7 and the PLDT group realized that they needed each other more, especially nowadays with a resurgent ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. cozying up to the Ayala group’s sphere of influence (watch the dynamics of this particular partnership, too.).

So if the price has already been agreed on, what’s holding up the PLDT-GMA7 deal?

We hear at least one of the three families that control GMA7 is not fully on board the plan to sell to PLDT. In fact, we hear it may not even be a factor of price. It looks like one family doesn’t want to sell at all.

If true, this does not bode well for the deal. So it remains to be seen whether the current talks are a case of “third time lucky” or one that follows the statistical rule of “happening in threes” (in this case a breakdown in the courtship for a third time). Abangan.  Daxim L. Lucas

Acts of charity

Whether in banking, malls and condos, the SM Group, led by the Philippines’ richest man, Henry Sy, comes in big. This mantra apparently extends to acts of charity under SM Cares, which is seeking to build more villages for free for survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”

Marissa Fernan, SM Prime Holdings Inc. vice president for the Visayas and Mindanao, recently told Biz Buzz that they were looking to build villages for those rendered homeless in areas like Palo, Leyte and Iloilo. Both locations were hard-hit by Yolanda, but have received less of the public’s attention compared to Tacloban City.

SM’s plan involves building up to 1,000 houses. It is a follow-up to the Dec. 21 groundbreaking of 200 “typhoon-proof” houses in Barangay Polambato, a mainly agricultural area in Bogo City, Cebu.

The 200 houses would rise on a one-hectare property donated by the heirs of Wenceslao and Margarita Briones Fernan. The land used to be a sugar-producing estate. But Marissa, eldest daughter of the late Senate President Marcelo Fernan, said it was her mother’s dream to see the town’s farmers get proper housing.

The private sector often gets criticized for their supposed greed when it comes to chasing and maximizing profits. In some cases this may be true. But given the government’s response in the aftermath of the supertyphoon, it’s always good to see businesses giving back in these trying times. Miguel R. Camus

COA chief joins UN body

Commission on Audit chair Grace Pulido-Tan started her term on Jan. 1 as one of five members of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee of the United Nations.

Pulido-Tan is the first Filipino to be a member of the committee, a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly that is tasked to help the assembly fulfill its oversight responsibilities.

The feisty COA chair will not be paid to dispense her duties as a member of the committee, but she—and the country—will have bragging rights to more than make up for the lack of a regular pay.

Pulido-Tan, however, will likely get reimbursed for the plane fare, meals and accommodations while in New York City for the quarterly meetings of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee.

Members of the committee are appointed by the General Assembly based on personal qualifications, experience, and equitable geographical representation—no two members should come from the same country.

Tina Arceo-Dumlao

Comebacking MVP

By end-2013 and early this new year, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP) quietly regained the lead as the country’s most valuable company at the stock market. PLDT posted the highest market capitalization of P576 billion at the end of the year, although conglomerate SM Investments Corp. was not too far behind with P566 billion.

In the first trading week of 2014, SMIC reduced PLDT’s lead as its market cap improved to P569.73 billion versus PLDT’s P576.4 billion.

Dealers said SMIC’s share prices have consolidated off all-time highs in the aftermath of the discounted follow-on offering in August last year, where shares were sold at P900 a share—a steep discount from the P960 market pricing at the time. SMIC shares closed at P706 apiece last Friday, having pulled back by 41 percent from the peak of P1,200 in May 2013. The US Federal Reserve’s tapering of easy money dampened the market since then.

On the other hand, PLDT has since retreated by around 20 percent to P2,634 a share, based on Friday’s close, from its peak of P3,290 in mid-May, reflecting the overall market decline.  Doris C. Dumlao

Newest 5-star hotel

The newest five-star hotel in the metropolis, the 316-room Marco Polo Ortigas, is set to open its doors this quarter. This is the third Marco Polo-managed hotel in the country and the first in Metro Manila (the two others are in Davao and Cebu).

The P3-billion property, owned by the group of businessman Samuel Po, is now accepting online booking for hotel rooms through Agoda and Booking.com. Rooms are available from March 1 this year starting at P4,860 per night (nonrefundable).

By investing in this hotel, which is located right beside the Union Bank building on Meralco Avenue, Po’s group aims to cover the dearth of five-star hotels close to the Quezon City, Ortigas and Greenhills area.

Outside of this hotel business venture, Po heads JS Unitrade Merchandise, a leading manufacturer of paper hygiene products. It sells baby diaper brands EQ Plus and EQ Dry, adult diapers Caress and Dr. P, and female hygiene pads Charmee.

Marco Polo Ortigas also seeks to add four new specialty outlets in Metro Manila, such as Cucina, an all-day dining restaurant that features live show kitchens; Lung Hin, which serves traditional and authentic Cantonese cuisine; and Café Pronto, a casual coffee venue. The fourth outlet is UV’s, a sky bar and lounge located on the 45th floor of the hotel, the newest addition to the metropolis’ club scene.  Doris C. Dumlao

‘Gift from God’

The efforts of Cebu-based entrepreneur Manny H. Osmeña to put his Movenpick Resort on the global tourism map may be bearing fruit. Search engine Google has named it the second most searched travel destination in the Philippines in 2013, after Sky Ranch in Tagaytay City.

Movenpick Hotel Mactan Island, Cebu beat Tubbataha Reef, Pico de Loro, Tugawe Cove Resort, Potipot Island, Amana Waterpark, Misibis Bay, Nuvali and the Laiya resorts in Batangas, according to the annual Zeitgeist chart of Google.

Osmeña said in a statement that he was thrilled with the results.

It is a “gift from God to be recognized for the complete transformation of the property, as well as the transformation of the food and beverage service. We welcome visitors who are curious about the resort and aim to give them a great experience with the unique ambience of Movenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu,” he said.

The resort offers the Ibiza Beach Club that seeks to duplicate the club atmosphere on the Spanish island, and the renowned Movenpick Swiss ice cream. Guests can also order the same premium coffee served in Movenpick Hotels in Paris, Zurich and Berlin.  Tina Arceo-Dumlao

Get business alerts and a preview of Biz Buzz the evening before it comes out. Text ON INQ BUSINESS to 4467 (P2.50/alert).