MANUEL V. PANGILINAN, chairman and chief executive officer of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), has completed the acquisition of additional shares in the power distributor from San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMGP).
In a regulatory disclosure on Monday, SMGP said it had completed the sale of 3.77 million Meralco common shares to Mr. Pangilinan for approximately P2.19 billion through a special block sale at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Oct. 9.
The shares were sold at P580.99 apiece and represented about 0.33% of Meralco’s outstanding common shares.
The transaction increased Mr. Pangilinan’s personal stake in Meralco to approximately 0.34%.
The acquisition follows the completion of a separate P12.4-billion share purchase by Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) from SMGP on Oct. 8.
MPIC acquired approximately 21.4 million Meralco common shares, equivalent to a 1.9% stake, at the same price of P580.99 per share.
The transaction increased MPIC’s direct and indirect shareholding in Meralco to approximately 49.4% from 47.46%.
The shares sold by SMGP were part of its holdings acquired from state-run Land Bank of the Philippines under an agreement signed in December 2008.
Under the original agreement, SMGP agreed to acquire the shares at P90 apiece, compared with Meralco’s prevailing market price of about P57 at the time.
The shares were transferred to SMGP only in 2025 following prolonged litigation over the original transaction.
SMGP earlier said the proceeds from the sale of its minority stake in Meralco would be used to fund existing investments and renewable energy projects.
SMGP is the power generation arm of San Miguel Corp., led by Ramon S. Ang. Its portfolio includes natural gas, coal, hydroelectric power, and battery energy storage systems.
Meralco is the country’s largest private electric distribution utility, serving more than 8.2 million customers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
Meralco’s controlling shareholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera