MPIC to launch tender offer for First Philippine Infrastructure

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) has offered to acquire the shares held by the public in First Philippine Infrastructure Inc. (FPII), equivalent to 0.1603 percent of FPII, for P18.463 million or P2.46705 a share.

The tender offer was made by MPIC pursuant to the mandatory tender offer rule as provided under the Securities Regulation Code. Under the law, an investor who acquires at least 35 percent of a listed company must offer to buy out other shareholders at the same price agreed upon with the block seller.

Under the sale purchase agreement signed in August, MPIC will acquire the Lopez family’s  99.84 percent stake in FPII   for P12.26 billion or P2.46705 each share. 

Of the total 4.97 billion common shares to be sold by the Lopez group, 2.435 billion will come from Benpres Holdings Corp. while the balance of 2.534 billion are held by First Philippine Holdings Corp.

MPIC said Lopez Inc. which holds 87.02 million shares in FPII (accounting for approximately 1.7151 percent of the listed rollroad firm) has waived any and all rights it may have under the tender offer and just decided to sell their shareholdings at P2.2474 per share.

Minority shareholders of FPII have until Nov. 19 or any extended date that may be approved by the SEC subject to the closing of the sale.

Banco de Oro Unibank has confirmed that resources available to the bidder are sufficient to satisfy full acceptance of the tender offer shares pursuant to the tender offer. 

Angel S. Ong, president and chief operating officer of Benpres, said the divestment is in line with group’s strategy to trim debt to a more manageable level.

Benpres will receive P6.2 billion from the sale of its 49-percent stake in FPII, formerly City Resources Corp. The remaining P6 billion will go to FPHC.

MPIC said P11.8 billion of the total consideration will be paid in cash on closing of the deal which is expected to be somewhere November while the balance will be settled through assumption of certain advances.

Funding for the acquisition will come from shareholder advances from MPIC’s parent firm First Pacific, and internally-generated cash.  

With the acquisition, MPIC will effectively own 67.1 percent of the Manila North Tollways Corp. which is the builder and concessionaire of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), the 84-kilometer world-class highway that connects Metro Manila, the National Capital Region of the Philippines, with Central and Northern Luzon .

MNTC was established in 1998 in response to the call of the Philippine government for private sector partners willing to provide the capital and technical expertise needed to build the infrastructure vital to national growth.