FirstPac-controlled PTIC can match P25.2-B bid

The right to match the P25-billion bid for the government's stake in Philippine Telecommunications Investment Corp. on Friday passed from First Pacific Co. Ltd. to PTIC itself, which also happens to controlled by the Hong Kong-based firm. First Pacific has a 56 percent stake in PTIC and control of the shares in question will thus still end up with the former. First Pacific had only until Thursday to match the P25.2 billion offer for the government's 46 percent stake in PTIC, which is equivalent to roughly 6 percent equity in Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said Thursday that if First Pacific does not exercise its right to match on Thursday, the right will pass on to PTIC as a corporation. "If First Pacific does not match the bid (on Thursday) because they are still working this out with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the right to match passes to PTIC itself," Teves said. Under PTIC's articles of incorporation, other shareholders or PTIC as a corporation have the right to match Singaporean hedge fund Parallax Capital Venture's offer for the stake. Teves said the Finance department will be sending a notice to PTIC anytime Friday that it would be next in line to match the offer. "PTIC will be served notice by us that they will now be the entity that can exercise the right to match," Teves said. He said PTIC will have 30 days from the receipt of the notice to match the offer. Buying time Despite this development, the PTIC shares in question will still go to the First Pacific group. The remaining 56 percent of PTIC not owned by the government is held by the First Pacific group. In an interview with GMANews.TV, First Pacific assistant vice president Sara Cheung said the firm would just be doing the acquisition through PTIC itself, instead of through First Pacific. "We will definitely be matching the bid, but this time through PTIC itself. We will have until March 2 to match the bid," Cheung said. First Pacific was initially ready to match 50 percent of the P25.2 billion offer a day before their initial deadline, but the firm encountered resistance from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with which it is listed. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange had classified the deal as a "related party transaction" which means First Pacific needed to get shareholder approval before the deal pushes through. Yielding their right to match the offer to PTIC, which it also controls, has effectively bought First Pacific more time to secure shareholder approval for the takeover. Matching with NTT DoCoMo First Pacific had earlier said Japanese telecom firm NTT DoCoMo would join it in matching the bid, with the firms shouldering half each. NTT DoCoMo currently owns 6.7 percent of PLDT. Cheung said, however, that as of Thursday night, no formal agreement with NTT DoCoMo has been reached. She added that should the talks with the Japanese firm not progress, First Pacific would be willing to takeover the PTIC shares on its own. "But it looks like we will be doing the match in the way we initially said we would in December, and that is with NTT DoCoMo," Cheung said. - GMANews.TV