SAN MIGUEL Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMGP) is acquiring additional shares in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) worth a total of P93.12 million.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp., SMGP said it purchased 1.03 million common shares of Meralco from LANDBANK.
The shares were bought at P90 apiece, data from the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. showed.
The latest transaction increases SMGP’s 3.8% stake in Meralco, valued at P3.9 billion.
In July, the power generation company said it acquired 43.23 million common shares of Meralco at P90 each. The deal marked the conclusion of a long-running legal dispute between SMGP and LANDBANK.
In 2008, SMGP — then known as Global 500 Investment — entered into a share purchase agreement with LANDBANK involving Meralco shares.
The state-run lender later rescinded the deal, prompting SMGP to sue for damages, arguing that the cancellation was unjustified.
In November 2022, the Court of Appeals sided with SMGP, ruling that the bank’s decision to withdraw from the agreement had no factual basis.
Meralco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manuel V. Pangilinan earlier said the power distributor’s move would depend on SMGP’s strategy regarding its shares.
Meralco, the country’s largest private distribution company, serves more than eight million customers in Metro Manila and nearby areas.
SMGP, the power arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), maintains a diversified energy portfolio across conventional and renewable sources.
For the second quarter, the company’s attributable net income rose by 39% to P8.16 billion from P5.87 billion a year earlier.
Revenues fell by 30.8% to P54.82 billion from P79.22 billion in the same period last year.
SMC, through SMGP, was the second-largest power producer as of July with a market share of 20.11% in the national grid, according to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
