MANILA - Manuel V. Pangilinan, chair of Philippine Long Distance Co. (PLDT), has denied that his group offered to acquire San Miguel Corporation's stake in Meralco by swapping assets.

But he did not deny that his group is interested to buy San Miguel out of Meralco.

At the sidelines of the PLDT stockholders' meeting Tuesday, Pangilinan said, “We cant just force them (San Miguel) to sell. They must be a willing seller."

“It takes two to tango, right? If they are not selling what can we do? They are the owners of the shares. They have every right to say whether they want to sell or not to sell and when they want to do that. We should respect their position,” he explained.

When asked about San Miguel president Ramon Ang, who announced the supposed asset swap offer last week, Pangilinan said, “I consider him (Ang) as a very nice person, actually."

Ang had told journalists that before Meralco's annual stockholders meeting on May 26, Pangilinan's group offered the asset swap.

The Pangilinan-led PLDT Group, in an alliance with the Lopez family who controlled Meralco for decades, dominate the power distributor's board and management, leaving San Miguel out in the cold.

The PLDT-Lopez alliance holds a combined 47 percent stake in Meralco, while San Miguel and allies reportedly cornered up to 43 percent. San Miguel's direct holdings account for only 27 percent.

San Miguel's Ang told journalists that his group might consider selling their Meralco stake if offered a "spectacular" price. He gave an example: P500 per share.

Last October, San Miguel purchased the 27 percent Meralco share from a government pension fund for P90 a share, payable in three years and interest free.