GSIS wants to buy up to 49% of Philamlife
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/23/2008 12:30 AM
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State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is willing to buy up to 49 percent of Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co (Philamlife), one of the assets troubled American International Group is selling to raise funds for debt payments.
GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia said they are talking with foreign and local investors for a possible strategic partnership for the acquisition of the Philamlife stake.
"We are seriously looking at being a strategic investor. The values are there and we are interested but not necessarily the majority. It is a range of one percent to 49 percent," he said.
"There is synergy when it comes to life insurance since we compliment and draw strength from each other. GSIS and Philamlife can be dominant," he added, noting that GSIS currently has 1.3 million life insurance policyholders consisting mainly of government employees.
However, the pension fund chief said they would have to scrutinize the books of Philamlife first.
Garcia explained that GSIS remains the number one government-owned and-controlled corporation with a record-high P441.8 billion in total assets and P34.9 billion in claims and benefits paid to its members in 2007. It also posted a net profit of P41.5 billion last year.
Early this month, Philamlife president and chief executive officer Jose Cuisia announced there are close to 10 investor groups who expressed interest in buying whole or a portion of the leading insurance provider in the Philippines.
Philamlife, after all, is strong and well-capitalized, with a net worth of P49.5 billion and over P170 billion in assets.
Other firms that publicly expressed interest in Philamlife include conglomerate Ayala Corp, retail magnate Henry Sy's SM through Banco de Oro Universal Bank, taipan Alfonso Yuchengco through Rizal Commercial and Banking Corp, food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp and Pru Life of UK, among others.
