Tan still wants to sell stake in PNB

"Yes," Tan told reporters over the weekend when asked if he wanted to sell his shares in PNB for P160 per share.

Tan confirmed he is negotiating with government for a joint sale of their stakes in PNB.

"They are firming it up," Tan said when asked if a joint sale has been finalized between government and his group which currently controls about 70 percent of PNB. The government has reduced its stake under a stock rights offering last year from about 30 percent to about 16 percent.

Last year, a joint sale of Tan and the government’s shareholdings fell through because prospective buyers found the asking price of P160 per share too high since PNB was trading at the stock market at below P80 per share.

In September, Tan, through a stock rights offering, infused P10 billion in capital which raised his stake in PNB to about 70 percent while the government’s share was diluted to just 16 percent.

Analysts said that at P160 per share, Tan would not be selling at a loss since that price already covers his acquisition cost last year which is believed to average about P140 to P145 per share. The shares were brought in tranches at different prices.

Earlier, Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) president Norberto Nazareno said the combined stakes of Tan and government amounted to about P17.4 billion. He said government and Tan hold 370 million shares worth P17.4 billion at its current price of P47 per share.

The government recently commissioned US-based auditing firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers to draft a new rehabilitation plan for PNB. The recovery plan will include a recommendation on how to integrate PNB’s P25-billion loan from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and PDIC.

The BSP and PDIC provided the emergency loan assistance to PNB last year after it experienced heavy withdrawals from September to October.