Lopezes raise stake in Asian Eye Institute

The Lopez group has cemented control over Asian Eye Institute Inc. (AEI) in Rockwell Center Makati by buying out the 3.55-percent stake unloaded by Felipe Tolentino, the founder of this eye institute.

This transaction brought up Lopez-led First Philippine Holdings (FPH)’s stake in AEI to 50.57 percent, thus making it one of its subsidiaries, FPH disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday.

AEI’s earnings will henceforth be consolidated into FPH’s books.

Based on the disclosure, FPH bought 149,000 shares plus one founder’s share in AEI from Tolentino. The stake was valued at P19.5 million or at 130 percent of par value of these shares.

Tolentino is a Filipino-American ophthalmologist who organized Harvard-trained peers with different specializations to be the core medical team of Asian Eye in 2001. The Lopez family, on the other hand, had then supported the establishment of the center.

The institute now serves 60,000 local and foreign patients every year and is “at the forefront of efforts to make breakthrough technologies for eye care treatment available in Asia,” according to its website.

AEI provides a full range of specialized medical services using some of the most advanced technology available in the world.