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Philippines: Five companies interested in indirect stake in PLDT Print E-mail
Monday, 20 November 2006
John Philip Sevilla, the finance undersecretary in charge of privatisation, said that representatives of five companies attended a pre-bidding conference for an auction of the government's 46% stake in a holding company that has a stake in Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT).

Sevilla did not disclose the identities of the prospective bidders for the government's stake in Philippine Telecommunications Investments, the holding company that owns 13.85% of PLDT. Prospective bidders have until November 27 to submit documents required to qualify them for the auction scheduled for December 4.

The auction will we be for the ownership of 111,415 PTIC shares currently owned by Prime Holdings, which the Supreme Court ruled formed part of the ill-gotten wealth of former President Ferdinand Marcos. Consequently, the court turned the shares over to the government. The Presidential Commission on Good Government, the state agency that recovered the PTIC stake, estimated the stake could be worth at least the market value of the underlying PLDT shares. The PTIC stake translates to a 6.37% interest in PLDT, or 13.1 million shares. At PLDT's closing price Monday, the stake could be worth around US$ 652 million.

The terms of the auction discussed by Sevilla with prospective bidders include a requirement that bidders have access to at least US$ 500 million, and the right of Hong Kong's First Pacific Co. to match the bid of whoever wins the auction. First Pacific, through two subsidiaries, owns 54% of PTIC. First Pacific has decided not to participate in the bidding, but is expected to exercise its rights over the government stake in PTIC. Sevilla said the winning bidder must pay the purchase price within 30 days of the completion of the share purchase deal.

Source: Dow Jones - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News