SSS invites Go family to sell their Equitable PCI shares in 1 block

The Social Security System (SSS) will try to convince the Go family to agree to a joint sale of their stocks in Equitable PCI Bank to fetch a higher price, SSS chairman and president Carlos Arellano said Thursday.

The Go family owns 30 percent while the SSS has a 23-percent stake in Equitable PCI Bank.

"We may propose it (joint sale) to Equitable-PCI Bank because we can get a good price if we will sell a controlling stake in the bank," Arellano said.

If the Go family does not want to sell, then SSS can talk with other shareholders to get a combined 51 percent.

"There is the public to reckon with," he said, noting that the public owns about 30 percent of the bank. The Government Service Insurance Systems (GSIS) also has a 12-percent equity in Equitable PCI.

At present, he said they are talking with two foreign institutions for the possible sale of SSS shares in the bank. However, Arellano said these are all exploratory since they will still have to wait for the stock market to recover so they can get the right price for the shares.

"Basically, it is still a wait and see attitude because of the jueteng issue and the entire global environment," he said.

Only recently, SSS increased its stake in Equitable PCI Bank to 23 percent from 12 percent through the stock market.

According to Arellano, they decided to jack up their shares in the Equitable PCI Bank because they believe that the fundamentals of the bank are good and the synergy of the merger is on the upside.

He said they have gained some P150 million to P180 million from their stock market transactions involving the bank’s shares.

However, he admitted, that the price of the shares of Equitable PCI Bank had gone down by 40 percent from their initial buying price of P96 per share.