Mitsubishi trims stake in Ayala Corp.

Japanese trading giant Mitsubishi Corp. has trimmed its stake in the Philippines’ oldest conglomerate Ayala Corp. with the sale of P7.94 billion worth of shares, seen as part of its “portfolio rebalancing.”

Mitsubishi unloaded 8.5 million common shares of Ayala at a price per share of P934 in an equity deal arranged by Swiss investment house UBS, industry sources familiar with the transaction said on Tuesday.

“Mitsubishi is just adjusting or rebalancing portfolio,” one source said, when asked about the Japanese firm’s rationale for paring the stake.

As the equity deal was priced at a discount of 7.5 percent from Ayala’s closing price of P1,010 per share on Monday, shares of the conglomerate tumbled by 7.23 percent to close at P937 per share.

As of Tuesday’s close, Ayala is valued by the stock market at around P627 billion.