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AFTER
completing its tender offer, Petron Corp.’s new
stakeholder Ashmore Group said on Tuesday it has bought
more than half of the oil refiner’s total outstanding
shares at a price of P6.531 per share.
In its
filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange, Ashmore,
through its unit SEA Refinery Holdings B.V., said it now
has 50.75 percent of Petron’s total outstanding shares
upon completion of its tender offer to other owners of
the oil firm. The issuance of the tender offer is in
compliance with the Securities Regulation Code
requirement that the group acquire at least 30 percent
of a listed company’s equity within 12 months to protect
shareholder interests. Unless beneficial to its
shareholders and to public interest, the government
earlier said it is not keen on taking advantage of the
possible tender offer by Ashmore Group’s SEA Refinery
Holdings or selling its stake in Petron Corp.
Ashmore
earlier bought 40 percent of the Petron shares held by
Saudi Aramco for $550 million. The government said that
if it sells the balance of its Petron holdings, or
another 40 percent, to Ashmore under this tender offer,
Ashmore would automatically control 80 percent. But the
government deems that selling its 40-percent interest in
Petron should be done and sold at a premium, considering
that it is turning over control. The government said it
will always sell under conditions that would be most
beneficial and most advantageous to the government and
the public.
Citing
the agreement, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said the
government and Ashmore will still be having five seats
each in the board, regardless of the increase in
shareholdings of Ashmore, whether 50 percent or 60
percent. The energy chief said Philippine National Oil
Co. (PNOC) will maintain chairmanship of Petron while
its president will be nominated by Ashmore. The position
of chief executive, said Reyes, will be rotated between
the government and its new partner, Ashmore.
He added
that there will be no change in management and that PNOC
will take the post of chief executive this year and next
year. Owing to fiscal constraints and a policy that
negates reverse privatization, PNOC earlier waived its
right to purchase the 40-percent stake of Aramco
Overseas Co. B.V. (AOC) in local refiner Petron Corp.,
giving instead the green light for Aramco to sell its
shares to
Ashmore.
PNOC,
which separately owns 40 percent of Petron—with the
remaining 20 percent of shares publicly traded on the
Philippine Stock Exchange—had, in effect, waived its
right to first offer.
The
approval of the sale to Ashmore by AOC triggers a
mandatory tender offer by Ashmore for some of the shares
held by the public, as stipulated in the Securities
Regulation Code. Rey David, president of the Development
Bank of the Philippines, which advised the energy
department on this transaction, earlier said they
consider Ashmore as adding value to Petron. ”And with
that value to Petron, we recommend that the PNOC should
not interpose any objection to the sale. We find that
Ashmore will be an acceptable partner with their
intention to strategically and financially grow Petron’s
business,” said David. |
