MANUEL V. PANGILINAN, chairman of a number of the country’s biggest business entities, said he has signed an agreement with the Prieto family to sell his stake in the company behind the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“We’ve signed an agreement with Mrs. (Marixi R.) Prieto already,” he told reporters on Tuesday when asked about the status of his exit from the Inquirer group.

“Effectively, it’s in the process… we’re in the sale process. There’s been a formal agreement signed,” he said.

Asked about the date of signing, he said: “Last week yata (probably).”

Mr. Pangilinan, however, declined to give the size of the deal in peso terms, saying: “It’s a private treaty, so I’d rather not comment.”

He also said he did not know when the sale would be finalized or the time frame that he was looking at for this.

“I don’t know. I think I have to ask my people,” said Mr. Pangilinan, chairman of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Manila Electric Co., PLDT, Inc. and PXP Energy Corp., among others.

Once finalized, Mr. Pangilinan’s exit from the Inquirer paves the way for the complete sale of the entity to businessman Ramon S. Ang, president and chief operating officer of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. and president and chief executive officer of Petron Corp.

On July 17, 2017, Ms. Prieto announced that she had resumed discussions with “longstanding friend” and “business partner” Mr. Ang for the sale of the Prieto family’s interest and majority share in the Inquirer.

The Inquirer said the discussions came after a series of talks that started between the two parties in 2014, and restarted in early 2017 after the Prietos completed its annual review of business plans in the group and other business interests. It also said due diligence review of the group would be undertaken soon by Mr. Ang.

The family’s decision to divest after 25 years was said to maximize growth opportunities for the Inquirer group.

Earlier this month, Mr. Pangilinan said a valuation of his 15% stake in Inquirer had been done.

Ms. Prieto previously said that the family had initially offered its 85% share in the Inquirer to Mr. Pangilinan, who had refused, citing a possible clash with the country’s competition law. He already owns The Philippine Star, BusinessWorld and the TV5 network.

The sale of his stake to the Prietos facilitates Mr. Ang’s takeover of the Inquirer ownership. — Victor V. Saulon

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