Triratna group presses Transco rebid

One other group that was prequalified to bid for the National Transmission Co. (Transco) pushed for a rebid of the electricity grid operator, a day after the consortium of Terna SPA and Citadel Holdings, sole bidder in Monday’s failed auction, pressed for a negotiated sale. The consortium of Triratna Holdings Corp. -- which joins three of the Philippines’ wealthiest businessmen, a US investment fund and Malaysia’s largest electricity provider -- said it is prepared to make an attractive offer for Transco. “The consortium remains very interested in participating in the privatization process and in giving the government a highly competitive valuation to this key asset," the group said in a statement. "We are prepared to put in an attractive bid and we are hopeful that PSALM will address our concerns," it said. This adds pressure on the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), which manages the privatization of state power assets, to fairly decide a course of action in the six-year Transco privatization saga. The Monday bidding is the fourth attempt to sell Transco since 2001. The February 5 auction was declared a failure after Triratna and the consortium of Monte Oro Grid Resources declined to submit their offers. This left Citadel and Terna, largest transmission company in Italy and second largest in Europe, to make the sole bid. PSALM announced it would consider a rebid, but this was quickly opposed by the Terna-Citadel combine. The consortium held press conference Wednesday to announce an offer of $4 billion to acquire and operate Transco through negotiated sale. The Italian ambassador to the Philippines warned that failure to reach a deal with Terna could sour Italian investors towards the Philippines. The Triratna consortium said it held off Monday due to “important structural issues in the final transaction documents." It cited a bid condition holding each member liable for the actions of the whole consortium. Triratna is represented by three of the country's wealthiest businessmen -- SM Group's Henry T. Sy,Jr., San Miguel Corp. president Ramon S. Ang and NutriAsia Group CEO Joselito D. Campos. Its foreign partners are Tenaga Nasional Berhad of Malaysia and US hedge fund Newbridge Asia. The Triratna group said it asked PSALM President Nieves L. Osorio to defer the latest auction until issues it raised could be resolved but the process went through anyway. PSALM still has not come up with a decision on the matter. “Hopefully we will come up with a decision on Friday," said energy secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla. -GMANews.TV