METRO PACIFIC Tollways Corp. (MPTC) said it is ready to resume merger talks with San Miguel Corp. (SMC) after deferring discussions amid fundraising activities.
“We would like to engage them because everybody has reported their first-quarter results already. We can go back to work. If we are going to do it, we might as well do it as expeditiously as possible,” MPTC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters on the sidelines of an event last week.
“We just have to sit down and really try to thresh it out. [SMC] is doing very well.”
In 2023, MPTC reported debt of approximately P145 billion to P150 billion, the highest among Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) units.
MPTC said earlier that its planned tollway merger with SMC has no definite completion date yet but intends to finalize the deal this year.
The tollway arm of MPIC said the company aims for a 50-50 split in the planned merger with SMC, describing it as the ideal structure for the joint venture.
MPTC is the tollway arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., alongside Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., holds a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
