WHOEVER comes out the beneficial owner or owners of 33,133,064 shares in San Miguel Corp. will no longer get a seat on the board of San Miguel.          

Documents filed with the Supreme Court showed the big block of SMC shares was equivalent to at least 31 percent of the company’s outstanding shares in 1986, which would elect five directors in the 15-man board. The same shares have been diluted to 1.056 percent of 3,135,834,461 outstanding shares.               

But the winner or winners in the ownership case pending resolution by the Sandiganbayan would be richer by several billions based on the present market value of SMC shares, which, however, is lower than the P100 per-share price 21 years ago.       

The shares had grown to 132,532,256 shares, or 4.226 percent of outstanding shares, but which would not even be enough to get a board seat. At Monday’s P63.50 closing price,  the shares had a  market value of P8,415,798,256 against P3,313,306,400 in 1986. The big increase came from the implementation of a stock split in late 1980s and the declaration of 100-percent stock dividend, which were approved by the board then controlled by the government through the Sorianos.

The over 31 million SMC shares were sold in a special block sale on March 26, 1986, but which were placed under sequestration by the Presidential Commission on Good Government on April 7, 1986 “on the theory that they belong to Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.”   

Court documents point to the sale as having violated two executive orders of President Corazon C. Aquino on February 28, 1986 and March 12, 1986, “which prohibit . . . the transfer, conveyance, encumbrance, concealment or liquidation of assets and properties acquired by former President Ferdinand Marcos and/or his wife, Mrs. Imelda Marcos, their close relatives, subordinates, business associates.”               

The sequestration was not to stay for long however, when it was lifted by the PCGG, allowing “the sale to proceed on petition filed by SMC that these were “owned by 1.3 million coconut farmers.”          

But then, the government had a change of heart when the PCGG again sequestered the shares on May 19, 1986 also on SMC’s request, on suspicion that “the shares were owned by an antagonistic block led by Mr. Cojuangco” and that “the buyer, in truth, was a corporation owned by Cojuangco, Neptunia Corp. Ltd.”  

The shares were sold by 14 of 17 companies under so-called CIIF (Coconut Industry Investment Funds) group.

Cojuangco regains control

FORMER Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. regained control of the 15-man board of directors of San Miguel Corp. seven days after former movie actor vice president Joseph Ejercito Estrada took his oath of office as president on June 30, 1998.     

What he regained he has not lost since. Not even the second people power in January 2001 that catapulted Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the presidency in 2001 could oust Cojuango from his hold on SMC. The PCGG had to wait for the 2002 annual stockholders’ meeting to nominate and elect the five government men in the board of San Miguel, according to a PCGG insider.         

Cojuangco remains in control of San Miguel after ousting the Soriano group on July 7, 1998, despite owning only 546,667,084 SMC shares, or 17.433 percent, consisting of 473,332,727 “A” shares and 73,334,357 “B” shares. The block had total market value of P35,630,039,296.50 based on closing prices of P63.50 for “A” and P76 for “B” shares on Wednesday.       

The government, on the other hand, still elects five nominees to the SMC board using 753,332,727 shares—or 24.023 percent, consisting of 446,452,536 “A” shares valued at P28,349,736,036 (at P63.50 per share closing price on Wednesday), and 306,880,191 “B” shares valued at P23,362,078,976 at P76 per share. These shares are held by 17 companies under the so-called CIIF.     

In addition, SMC also listed the PCGG as record stockholder of 27,571,409 SMC shares, or 0.876 percent—divided into 19,324,884 “A” shares and 8,246,525 “B” shares.

In controlling the management of San Miguel, Cojuangco finds a strong ally in Japanese-owned Kirin Brewery Ltd., which owns 628,640,175 B shares, or 19.969 percent.

CONGRESS inched closer to ratifying the final version of the 2007 budget bill after the bicameral conference committee on Wednesday rendered a report endorsing that the money measure be submitted to Malacañang for signing into law by President Arroyo.

Philippine imports probably grew at a slower pace in November as global crude prices eased and purchases of electronic items weakened, economists said.

PRESIDENT Arroyo will apprise world leaders and top business executives of developments in the evolution of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) into a “formidable bloc” when she attends the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week.

THE pace of disposal by sale of banks’ nonperforming assets is expected to quicken this year with the banks’ agreement to lower prices of foreclosed assets offered for sale.

THE Filipino consumers’ confidence level is at an all-time high with their worries over the economy, job prospects, and political stability continually easing, according to findings of global consumer research outfit ACNielsen on Wednesday.

IT is possible the Arroyo government might miss last year’s economic target, as initial figures indicate a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of as low as 5.3 percent and up to 5.6 percent, a senior planning official on Wednesday said.

WHOEVER comes out the beneficial owner or owners of 33,133,064 shares in San Miguel Corp. will no longer get a seat on the board of San Miguel.