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SPV Beacon Electric Asset set to become Meralco's largest shareholder


PLDT Communications and Energy Ventures Inc., formerly Pilipino Telephone Corp., is set to transfer its remaining stake in power distributor Manila Electric Co. to special purpose vehicle Beacon Electric Asset Holdings Inc., which the company co-owns with Metro Pacific Investments Corp. PCEV told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday that its board approved the transfer of its 68.8 million Meralco shares to Beacon at a price of P220 per share for a total of P15.136 billion. The transfer price was based on a discount to the 15-day weighted average share price of Meralco "as published by various equity research analysts and comparable market transactions." Both PCEV and MPIC are units of Hong Kong's First Pacific Co. Ltd. The transfer of the shares will increase Beacon's Meralco shareholdings to 45.35 percent from 39.2 percent (as of July 2011) and will become the single largest shareholder of Meralco. PCEV had acquired its original 20-percent investment in Meralco in July 2009 and transferred 154.2 million shares to Beacon in March 2010. Besides the PCEV and MPIC group, diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. also has a substantial stake in Meralco. In August, San Miguel said it sold part of its Meralco stake to food unit San Miguel Pure Foods Co. The sale covered 59.09 million shares at P220 per share or a total of P13 billion. The shares represented 5.2 percent of Meralco. Prior to the sale to Pure Foods, San Miguel had also consolidated its Meralco interest with the stake held by businessman and former trade minister Roberto Ongpin. The consolidation brought San Miguel's interest in Meralco to 37 percent. PCEV, in turn, will also subscribe to 1.199 billion Beacon preferred shares. "The preferred shares carry a 7-percent dividend rate, subject to cash availability and retained earnings," said PCEV. - CMA/OMG, GMA News