Biz Buzz: SMC-Tan faceoff
The Lucio Tan and San Miguel groups are scheduled to meet today to discuss the buyout of flag carrier Philippine Airlines, where they share 51-49 percent stakes, respectively.
Specifically, the Tan group is expected to present its buyout proposal to San Miguel Corp. chief Ramon S. Ang (a.k.a. RSA).
As it is uncertain whether the proposal will be acceptable, it remains “iffy” as to which group will be able to consolidate ownership of the flag carrier.
From what we heard, the Lucio Tan group has been pooling funds to reimburse San Miguel some $375 million in equity plus about $400 million in advances. However, the estimate from the SMC side was that more than $1 billion would be needed to reimburse all equity and advances.
While both sides are hoping for a quick resolution to this buy-me-out-or-I-buy-you-out scenario, a source said one potential complication was that topnotch lawyer Estelito Mendoza, who is believed to be the crucial person for this transaction to push through, has been confined for pneumonia at the Makati Medical Center. (Mendoza, of course, is the top legal counsel employed by both the Lucio Tan and San Miguel camps for some of their most important transactions over the years.)
There are rumors about some people already celebrating victory in this deal. So who will it be? Abangan. Doris C. Dumlao
Fast-rising CAT
WORD going around the stock market is that the Philippine Stock Exchange is looking into publicly listed Central Azucarera de Tarlac Inc. (CAT), the ownership of which had recently changed hands.
According to our source, bourse regulators were particularly interested in the price movement of the lightly traded CAT shares in the days leading up to the announcement of the sale earlier this week. Indeed, the share price of CAT on the bourse had risen by a total of 45 percent over the last month—from P62 a share to P89.90 at the latest closing price—and regulators noted that the upward trek began long before the official announcement of the P1.8-billion sale was made. (The buyers, of course, are businessmen Martin Lorenzo and Fernando Cojuangco, while the sellers are the other members of the large Cojuangco-Aquino clan.)
We’re told that no less than the Capital Markets Integrity Corp. (the PSE unit in charge of looking into unusual trading behavior and price movements on the bourse) is interested in CAT. The group’s interest is accentuated by the fact that the stock’s rise occurred with higher-than-usual trading volume at a time when the broader market was fluctuating up and down.
Of course, the question is: Will they find anything here? Watch this space, people. Daxim L. Lucas
Terminal relief
If you regularly use Delta Air Lines and your flight is today, don’t forget your plane departs from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 and not the Terminal 1 you probably have been using for years.
Following a year of renovation works, Naia’s Terminal 3 will have “full airline operations” starting today, with Delta being the first of five international carriers scheduled to transfer from the older Terminal 1.
While passengers had to wait relatively long, or six years since the mothballed Terminal 3 finally opened in 2008, they should expect a more spacious facility with more check-in and immigration counters, as well as boarding gates.
Terminal 3 would need this with the influx of new passengers as the international carriers relocate. After Delta, KLM will start using Terminal 3 by Aug. 4, to be followed by Emirates on Aug. 15, Singapore Airlines on Sept. 1 and Cathay Pacific on a still-to-be-announced date in September.
All told, these carriers would add some 3.5 million passengers to Terminal 3, which handled about 14 million passengers last year, of which 2.5 million came from international flights. The resulting transfer means the congested Terminal 1’s load would fall to a comfortable (we hope) 4.5 million passengers.
We all recall the stifling heat Terminal 1 passengers had to endure during the summer months as airconditioning units were affected by its ongoing rehabilitation, forcing even President Aquino to apologize.
Heat may no longer be a problem as the new air-conditioning units for Terminal 1 ordered last November are scheduled to arrive in August, just as the biggest international carriers are moving out. If you’re still using the “old” terminal, a warm jacket might be in order. Miguel R. Camus
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