Biz Buzz: Tower One in darkness

Some occupants of Tower One and Exchange Plaza on Ayala Avenue were forced into an early evening workout Friday last week due to a power interruption just when many were about to retire for the day.

Some people who were in a hurry to get home, including Ayala Land Inc. chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael, had to take the emergency staircase to get down the building since the emergency power supply did not activate automatically.

For those coming from the topmost floors (for instance, Ysmael came from the 31st), the upside to the suspension of elevator operations was the loss of extra pounds.

The power outage lasted for around 37 minutes starting at around 6 p.m. Some ALI execs, like the new president Bobby Dy, chose to wait it out in the office. Power was eventually restored at around 6:37 p.m.

For those wondering why the generators didn’t work right away when the power interruption occurred in this premium building at the heart of the central business district, here’s the official explanation of the property management unit: “The automatic transfer switch of the emergency power system encountered a fault that prevented any manual override of the electronic system. People were safely led to the exits by our emergency brigade team until power was restored.”

The property management apologized for the inconvenience caused by the incident. Doris C. Dumlao

Alliance boardroom brawl

Filipino shareholders of Alliance Select Foods International Inc. recently gained the upper hand—albeit narrowly—in a boardroom squabble with their Singaporean partners.

Thanks to a 4-3 vote among the directors of the seafood firm, the Filipino majority led by company chair Jonathan Dee, were able to raise P563 million through a private placement from a company called Strong Oak Inc. That’s a vote of confidence for the publicly listed firm, which is already one of the largest seafood conglomerates in the region.

But don’t tell that to the Singaporean minority shareholders, led by directors Hedy Chua and Dr. Hong Hin Kay. They believe the company’s decision to sell shares to a new investor was rushed (over their objections) and meant to consolidate control in the hands of their erstwhile Filipino partners. Indeed, the Singaporeans’ stake in Alliance Select was reduced from 34.4 percent to 24.5 percent, after the private placement.

The Singaporeans even accused Alliance Select independent director George Sycip—a brother of Philippine corporate icon Washington Sycip—of being part of a “pattern of opaque management and dysfunctional corporate governance.”

The Filipino camp, meanwhile, says there is no truth to allegations raised by the Singaporean shareholders, saying instead that the latter engaged in a demolition job against the majority group, “peddling half truths and outright lies.”

The bottom line for the Filipino camp is that one cannot argue with success (with the “success” being the entry of new funds from an external investor).

While the Singaporeans say that the Filipinos have denied them access to Alliance Select’s financial records, the Filipinos counter that the foreign shareholders want to look into company records from long before they became partners. No can do, said the locals.

How will this end? Abangan.  Daxim L. Lucas

PNB play

Tycoon Lucio Tan’s Philippine National Bank is back at play in the stock market (up by 3.37 percent in Thursday’s heavy trade) as some investors predict an upcoming open season for banking mergers and acquisitions.

There’s renewed speculation that PNB is being targeted by those on the prowl for banking investments.

Industry sources said stock pundits must have gotten wind of meetings held by PNB execs with a top European financial powerhouse and an influential global investment management firm in recent days.

But it remains to be seen whether a move similar to the proposed Bank of the Philippine Islands takeover in late 2012 would take place. What is likely, some insiders feel, is a renewed interest from large institutions—like the recent visitors—to invest in PNB as passive investors.  Doris C. Dumlao

In the bag

If GMR and Megawide Construction Corp. officials were noncommittal on who would develop a potential retail complex on a six-hectare property included in the recently awarded Mactan Cebu International Airport PPP, that is because there has been no concrete discussion on how to go about this.

The perceived favored developer, of course, is Henry Sy’s SM group, given that the Sy family owns a minority stake in Megawide.

But Hans Sy, president of property arm SM Prime Holdings, told Biz Buzz that they have not approached GMR-Megawide on the matter “in any way” given outstanding issues that have yet to be settled.

Sy said they were naturally interested in developing the land beside the country’s second busiest airport—like any property developer would—but he stressed no proposal would be made “until everything is clear.”

As noted, the Sy family has some advantage in Megawide’s boardroom over other developers who may be eyeing a joint venture.

“There’s no need to rush,” Sy said.  Miguel R. Camus

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