MPIC delisting delayed anew pending valuation report

MANILA  -The voluntary exit of the Metro Pacific Investment Corp. (MPIC) from the main board of the local bourse will take more time as the P49-billion tender offer will not be put up for a vote during the upcoming annual shareholders’ meeting (ASM) after a valuation report on the company is finalized.

In a disclosure on Thursday, MPIC said that the bidders seeking to buy out publicly held shares had requested to defer the vote by shareholders on the approval of the voluntary delisting from the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The bidders previously said they had commissioned the preparation of a fairness opinion and valuation report for the tender offer, a copy of which was intended to be available before the June 6 shareholders’ meeting.

“Unfortunately, the report has not been finalized and the bidders will not be able to provide a copy of the same to the company before the ASM,” MPIC said.

Stanley Yang, First Pacific executive vice president for group corporate development, told reporters in a virtual briefing on Thursday they were hoping to complete the report in a month with the goal of holding a special stockholders’ meeting by early or mid-July to decide on the tender offer. However, he said there was “no firm timetable” yet.

“We would want [the independent financial adviser to] finish it as quickly as possible but I think the guidance would be within a month,” he said.

First Pacific, the single-biggest shareholder of MPIC, is among the principal bidders. Other tender offer buyers are GT Capital Holdings; Manuel Pangilinan, Metro Pacific chair and CEO; and a Japanese venture led by industrial giant Mitsubishi.

MPIC said it would keep the shareholders posted with the material developments.

In an earlier interview with the Inquirer, Yang said that the tender offer price of P4.63 per share—which was deemed as a low valuation by stockbrokers and investor groups—was not yet final.

https://business.inquirer.net/401526/mpic-tender-offer-price-not-final-first-pacific-tells-shareholders

It was based on a “preliminary” report by an accredited third-party valuation provider, he said. The final price was still subject to regulatory approval.

Previously, the Fund Managers Association of the Philippines and the Shareholders Association of the Philippines called on the buyers to increase their offer.

PH fund managers’ group wants higher MPIC tender offer price

“We believe that the tender offer price of P4.63 per share does not reflect the fair value of the shares of the company,” the fund managers said.

MPIC, which has interest in utilities and infrastructure, is one of the country’s biggest conglomerates.

Metro Pacific to go private after P49-B buyout deal