Mirant Phils to sell 15% of stock to public, 15% to strategic investor

SUAL, Pangasinan — Mirant Philippines Inc. said yesterday it is willing to sell at least 15 percent of its shares to interested strategic investors.

In a press briefing here, Mirant International chief executive officer and managing director Rick Kuester said another 15 percent will be sold to a wider field of investors through an initial public offering (IPO).

Kuester said selling at least 30 percent of Mirant Philippines is part of the company’s commitment to allow more investors to take part in the power firm’s effort to deliver efficient power service to its customers.

"We want to sell minority shares in a couple of ways. First is through an IPO and second is to bring in a minority investor," he said.

The Mirant International official said they intend to keep majority of the company’s equity. "Mirant Philippines wants to retain at least 70 percent of the company. We have a long-term view of our business here in the Philippines," he said.

He said the timing for the IPO and the sale to strategic investors is "quite a complicated matter".

"The timing depends on market conditions. It’s a complicated procedure. IPO is something that we should not rush. We should wait for the right opportunity to make it successful for the country and the company," he said.

Kuester said they have not firmed up any schedule yet for the public offering. "We intend to do it. But we have no specific timetable yet," he added.

Mirant Philippines president Edgardo Bautista said they have to postpone anew their plan to undertake an IPO in mid-2003 to early 2004.

MPI was supposed to offer its share to the public within this year but decided to postpone it to mid next year due to time constraints. Proceeds from shares offering are intended to fund the firm’s budgetary requirements.

The board of directors of US-based Mirant Corp. has approved the listing of its Philippine subsidiary in the local stock market.

Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez said Mirant Philippines should sell part of its shares to the public after registering a substantial net income of P8.5 billion in 2000. Mirant Philippines currently operates Pagbilao and Sual coal-fired power plants. It also holds 20-percent stake in Ilijan natural gas- fired power plant.