PLDT Group chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said Tuesday that the conglomerate might be open to buy more shares in power company Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

“We are open to any shareholder who wishes to dispose of their interest [in Meralco]. We might be willing to buy,” Pangilinan said in a press conference.

Asked if they have reached a point of discussing the possibility of buying San Miguel's direct stake in Meralco, Pangilinan responded, “I don't think it has gotten into that point. But there are backchannel discussions.”

Both PLDT and San Miguel are currently the two major shareholders in country's biggest power distributor, edging out the Lopez Group who controlled Meralco for more than a generation. The three groups now each have respective direct stakes of about 30, 27, and 13 percent in Meralco.

Two PLDT units have acquired an aggregate 30 percent stake in Meralco in the past two weeks. In the disclosure of Pilipino Telephone Corporation (Piltel) to the stock exchange, the corporate vehicle of PLDT that bought 20 percent from the Lopez Group last Friday said it has no plans of further increasing its stake in Meralco. Another PLDT unit, Metro Pacific Investment Corp, has 10.17 percent stake.

Pangilinan is the chairman of both Piltel and MPIC.

San Miguel not selling

In a text message to ABS-CBN News late Tuesday, San Miguel Corp president Ramon Ang said they have no intention to sell stake in Meralco. "San Miguel will keep Meralco shares."

Pangilinan confirmed early Tuesday that backchannels talks are ongoing between representatives of PLDT Group and San Miguel to "work together" in Meralco.

“I think we are all professional companies. Everyone has said that at the end of the day, we'd like to work together to deliver more value to shareholders and make Meralco a great company. Let's see how we could work together,” Pangilinan said.

He added that a sale of shares between the PLDT and San Miguel groups has not been discussed. "[It is] not part of both our agenda."

He said the PLDT Group--which is engaged in telecommunications, information technology, infrastructure, healthcare, among others--always seeks to own majority of companies they buy into. Majority shareholdings translate to control of the company's board and how the company conducts its business.

Pangilinan also reiterated the synergies between the businesses of PLDT and Meralco. Ray Espinosa, a PLDT director, added that the value of these synergies is at least P8 billion.- with reports from Ricky Carandang, ABS-CBN News

abs-cbnNEWS.com is the online news department of ABS-CBN Interactive Inc., a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. ABS-CBN and Meralco are both part of the Lopez Group of Companies.