Metro Pacific Tollways delays IPO to 2025 amid San Miguel Corp. partnership

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), the toll roads unit of Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), is delaying its plan to go public amid the anticipated joint venture partnership with Ramon Ang’s San Miguel Corp.

In a chance interview with reporters, MPTC president and CEO Rogelio Singon said the tollways firm was supposed to conduct its initial public offering (IPO) during the third quarter of 2023.

To recall, MPIC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan disclosed that the conglomerate will be publicly listing its tollways and water businesses following its delisting from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

“As far as MPTC is concerned, we're ready to do an IPO after the delisting of MPIC… but because of this merger it might be delayed,” Singson explained.

“It would be delayed because we have to find out whether we should be merging first or conduct the IPO,” he added.

Early this month, Pangilinan divulged plans to form a joint venture firm with Ang’s San Miguel —which holds the concession for the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), Skyway, NAIA Expressway (NAIAX), Star Tollway, Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX), and the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX).

MPTC, meanwhile, holds the concession for CALAX as well as the Manila- Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX), C5 Link Segment, the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), the Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), the NLEX Connector Road, and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) in Cebu.

In August, the two tollway giants signed an agreement to jointly undertake the construction of the Cavite-Batangas Expressway (CBEX) and Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway (NBEX) with a combined cost of P72 billion.

With the planned joint venture, Singson said MPTC’s IPO could be conducted in 2025.

“It would be 2025… because we need to assess, engage a third party assessor, financial advisor so it would be tedious,” he said.

Apart from MPTC, MPIC has interests in rail transportation through Light Rail Manila Corp., the operator of LRT-1, power distribution and generation through Meralco, as well as healthcare, agribusiness, real estate, fuel storage, and waste management.

MPIC is the Philippine arm of Hong Kong-based investment holding firm First Pacific Company Ltd.—RF, GMA Integrated News