Biz Buzz: Courtship kinks

The new round of talks between the group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan and the triumvirate behind broadcasting giant GMA 7 appears to be getting along.

But, from what we gather, there are still some kinks that need to be ironed out before a deal can be made.

MVP is said to be considering a mere minority interest in GMA 7. This must be because one of the three families controlling Kapuso is not keen on selling at this time.

This, however, still leaves two families that are willing to unload their shares. Their collective interests may be enough for MVP to get a substantial stake and management control. In the long run, a majority stake is still what MVP is gunning for (that is true in any company that he takes over).

Like in previous rounds, prospective sellers have left it all to GMA 7 president Felipe Gozon to negotiate with interested suitor/s.

Also, MVP’s offer price has declined from the previous round, which occurred ahead of an election year and which factored in higher prospective revenue for GMA 7. This time, a source familiar with the talks, says that MVP is offering to buy the shares at P9-ish apiece, compared to P10-ish a share in the last round.

Will sellers consent to a lower price tag?

Regulatory risks, the sharing of which was the deal-breaker in the last round, remain at this time as the deal must price in the need for a congressional franchise after a potential ownership change.

The best time seen to do this is as far away from an election year as possible when the cost of regulatory risks is lower.

For MVP to bag the deal, he may pay less for the shares but assume more of the cost of regulatory risks. In the end, he just might shell out as much as what he was willing to fork out the last time.—Doris C. Dumlao

Biggest loser

From a peak of 235 pounds following his appointment as finance chief by PNoy, Secretary Cesar Purisima closed the recently concluded year with a weight of about 197 pounds.

“I am now down to 200 [pounds],” Purisima proudly told reporters during a recent gathering.

He said he had to send most of his work clothes to his tailor for alterations to fit his new size.

Apart from the stress that comes with the job—which entails thinking of ways on how the Bureau of Internal Revenue can curb tax evasion and how the Bureau of Customs can stamp out smuggling—the other key reason for his weight loss is his dedication to exercise.

He hits the treadmill religiously every morning before going to work, he said.

Purisima, who loves to eat, chooses the path of regular exercise over trimming food intake as a means to lose weight.

Now that the finance chief looks much better after shedding some pounds, members of his public relations staff have a constant request to the print media: Use his latest photos, not the old ones.—Michelle V. Remo

Gov’t to gov’t, not always eye to eye

The notion that government bodies are naturally aligned has been challenged many times, particularly when the national policy clashes with local concerns on certain industries such as mining, power generation, and so on.

PNOC Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC), the oil and gas exploration unit of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co., recently encountered fresh bumps on the road to developing two mine-mouth, coal-fired power projects.

If completed, the two projects (one in Isabela and another in Zamboanga Sibugay) will provide a combined capacity of 200 megawatts in a country where economic growth is outpacing power infrastructure buildup.

It seems PNOC-EC has passed earlier hurdles with new guidelines of the National Economic and Development Authority, which weighed on the state firm’s timeline in mid-2013.

“When we made our performance negotiation agreement with GCGC (Governance Commission for Government Corp.), we told them that if this is the kind of environment you want us to operate, we will not be as competitive as we want to be,” PNOC-EC president and CEO Pedro A. Aquino Jr. said sometime in August 2013.

All’s well that ends well in that regard, it seems. But now, there is a new hurdle, and it appears to be a case of national-versus-local will.

The projects should have taken off by the end of 2013 but are apparently still undergoing difficulties. The project in Isabela province, for example, hit a snag on local permitting.

“We had some problems with the local government officials trying to get endorsement,” Aquino said recently.

He, however, maintained that concerns had been “threshed out” and that, “hopefully,” all the permits would be secured soon.

By now, PNOC-EC will have sent representatives to Isabela province to physically follow up on the needed documents.

“The local government officials wanted their presence for the signing of permits,” Aquino said.

Those who want more power capacity must be keeping their fingers crossed that no other stumbling block falls on the road.—Riza T. Olchondra

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