SEC asked to approve block sale of P426-M Steniel shares

Metro Pacific Corp. (MPC) and Philippine International Paper Corp. (PIPC) have asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve the block sale of P425.6 million worth of Steniel Manufacturing Corp. shares.

Lawyer Gemma Santos, counsel for both the MPC and PIPC, said that the transaction is "bonafide" and that it "is not intended to mislead or defraud the public." She added that this is a precondition to Silverneedle’s purchase of 72.6 percent of Steniel’s outstanding shares before buying the same shares tendered beforehand.

Silverneedle is a special purpose acquisition vehicle which CVC Asia Pacific Ltd., an advisor to Citigroup in the Asia Pacific region, established to buy the Steniel shares.

"We respectfully request the approval of the commission to effect the aforementioned sale of Steniel shares by way of block sales through the facilities of the Philippine Stock Exchange," Santos said.

Metro Pacific Corp., concentrating on its real estate business, and PIPC both agreed on selling 636.19 million of Steniel shares at P669 per share to Silverneedle on Dec. 1 at the Philippine Stock Exchange with ING Baring Securities acting as broker for both buyer and sellers.

Earlier, MPC president Ricardo Pascua said the sale of Steniel shares precedes the company’s attainment of becoming a leading property and real estate development company.

"I am pleased that Steniel has been sold to CVC Asia. Given CVC Asia’s considerable experience in the paper packaging business in Europe, such management expertise will maximize the potential of Steniel," Pascua said.

"For MPC, this is also a significant step in that with the disposal of Steniel, the property assets of Metro Pacific now account for 93 percent of our total resources. The proceeds of this sale will be used partly to support the various ongoing projects of the group and partly to retire debt." Pascua added.– Rommel Ynion