Financial Times

Philippine telecom tycoon to acquire stake in largest business daily

MANILA, (AFP) -

The chairman of the Philippines' main telecom company plans to acquire a 28 percent stake in the country's oldest business newspaper, company officials said Friday.

Manuel Pangilinan, chairman of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) said he hoped to acquire 28 percent of BusinessWorld Publishing Corp.

for 30-40 million pesos (565,000 to 753,000 dollars) in two to three weeks.

A spokesman for BusinessWorld, which first began publishing as BusinessDay in 1967, said: “As far as I know we are still talking. I have not heard anything officially so I can not say anything more.”Sources close to the newspaper said it was an open secret that businessman Inigo Zobel wanted to sell his 28 percent stake.

Zobel, who sits on the board of San Miguel Corp., inherited the stake from his father, Enrique, who died two years ago.

Pangilinan, who is also chief executive officer of First Pacific Co. in Hong Kong, said he hoped to increase his stake further in the company which publishes BusinessWorld, the country's most respected business daily.

This would require buying part or all of the 67 percent of BusinessWorld Publishing that is held by company employees in a retirement fund. Under company rules, a 100 percent employee vote would be required before any such sale.

“Our preliminary thinking is to talk to employees who are also shareholders to consider if they want to sell the whole or just part of their shares in the company,” Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan said he would need to spend at least 80 million pesos to purchase the remaining 67 percent stake.

A source close to BusinessWorld said: “Buying out the employees will not be easy ... not at the price being suggested. It is way too low and undervalues the business.”

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