San Miguel Corp. said Wednesday that its power subsidiary, San Miguel Global Holdings Power Corp., had purchased some 43 million shares in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) from the Land Bank of the Philippines.
“Such shares were transacted in the Philippine Stock Exchange this morning thru the deed of absolute Sale which contained the terms and conditions mutually determined by and acceptable to both parties and conformably with the decision of the Court of Appeals, subject of the disclosure to the exchange by the corporation, dated November 14, 2022,” San Miguel said in a disclosure.
The stake had been tied up in a legal dispute arising from graft allegations regarding Landbank’s sale of the stake in 2008. The appellate court had sided with San Miguel and the Supreme Court ordered the sale to be executed last year.
A news website said the P3.9-billion deal marked San Miguel chairman and CEO Ramon Ang’s return to Meralco following a tussle for control of the power firm with Manuel Pangilinan. It quoted an analyst as saying that San Miguel could be up for a windfall as the stake was sold at a significant discount.
San Miguel’s disclosure sought to clarify that report. It declined to comment, however, on the claim that it could realize a significant gain if it chose to sell the stake.
San Miguel’s share price went down by P0.50 to P73.50 while that of Meralco went up by P4.50 to P545 on Wednesday.
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