Ongpin group seeks PDIC intervention in PBCom sale impasse

MANILA, Philippines - A group of investors led by ISM Communications Corp. has asked the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) to intervene in the ongoing impasse regarding the sale of PBCom.

In a letter to PDIC furnished The STAR, ISM chairman Roberto V. Ongpin said despite their having complied with all the requirements for the acquisition of PBCom, the Luy Group – one of the three major shareholders of the bank – has been delaying the process to give more time for another bidder – the Araullo Group – to produce the necessary financing for their bid.

“It is now time for the PDIC to exercise its regulatory powers in order to prevent this sham from being perpetrated. We make this one last appeal. We believe that we have conformed to all the requirements and have proceeded totally in good faith and may have no recourse but to withdraw our bid if this sham is allowed to continue,” Ongpin said.

He emphasized that when an untenable situation such as this arises, it is incumbent upon the regulatory powers to exercise their legal mandate and call a halt to the shenanigans being perpetrated by one recalcitrant shareholders group.

Only three groups submitted their bids before the offer deadline, namely: the ISM Group, the Araullo Group and Malayan Integrated Industries Corp., based on the June 16 memorandum of Macquarie Capital Advisers which is administering the sale process.

Ongpin pointed out that in the same memorandum, it was stated that it was only the ISM Group that submitted a valid offer, with the two others adjudged by Macquarie as being non-conforming bids.

He also informed PDIC that two of the three major shareholders of PBCom, namely the Chung and Nubla clans, have formally signified their intention to award the bid to the ISM Group based on the Macquarie memorandum.

However, Ongpin said that for various and capricious reasons, the Luy Group insisted on deferring the award to the ISM Group, claiming that their preferred bidder, the Araullo Group, will come up with the necessary funds and appropriate documentation by June 21.

“In today’s (June 21) meeting attended by the three major shareholders groups, your goodselves, and Macquarie, despite the string protestations of the Chung and Nubla families, the Luy Group insisted that they be given another day to produce the necessary proof that the Araullo Group could produce the necessary funding for their bid. It is obvious that the unreasonable demands from the Luy Group violate all aspects of the sale process,” Ongpin stressed.

He added that the meeting again ended in a stalemate with no decision to award the bid to the ISM Group despite strong protestations from the Chung and Nubla camps.