Ang says to partner with Japanese group to bid for remaining Lopez stake

MANILA - Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is interested to broaden its ownership in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) by acquiring the Lopez group's remaining 13.4% stake in the country's biggest power distributor.

"Only if invited by Lopez to bid, yes SMC will bid," SMC President Ramon Ang told Reuters in a text message.

Ang said SMC would partner with a Japanese group, which he did not name, to bid for the Lopezes' remaining stake in a deal that could be worth as much as P40 billion ($840 million).

The Lopez family, meanwhile, was not available for comment.

Meralco has become an attractive target for both SMC and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) as both firms can piggyback on its retail electricity network to offer telecommunications services.

The PLDT group said it controls about 48% of the power utility, together with some business partners and the remaining stake held by the Lopez family held through its power conglomerate First Philippine Holdings Corp.

On Monday, PLDT said it had first rights on the 13.4% stake held by the Lopez family, but declined further comment.

SMC currently has a direct 27% stake in Meralco which it bought for over $600 million last year. The company said it controls a total of about 43% in Meralco through holdings of its business allies.

Shares of Meralco rose 11.7% at P262.50. Both A and B shares of SMC were unchanged at P65 and P65.50, respectively, while PLDT added 1.4% at P2,480. With a report from Agence France-Presse