Farmix to blame for being left out of UOB deal – lawyer

The Farmix Group has only itself to blame for being left out in the buyout transaction between the Espiritu Group and the United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOBL), a prominent corporate counsel said yesterday.

Lawyer Francis Lim of the ACCRA Law Office representing the Espiritu and Tan Caktiong Groups, issued the statement in reaction to accusations by Farmix that it was excluded from the buyout deal.

Lim said the Farmix Group which held less than one percent of the United Overseas Bank of the Philippines which the Singapore-based UOBL bought from the Filipino owners called the Espiritu Group, "were proceeding from the wrong premise in asserting their claims against UOB and the Espiritu Group."

"They quit being a part of our Group when they revoked the authority they had previously granted John Espiritu to collect their claims, which would be due from the UOB Group," Lim explained.

It will be recalled that the Espiritu and Tan Caktiong groups had filed a petition against the respondents, the UOBL Group (United Overseas Bank of the Philippines and UOBL directors and Manta Ray Holdings) for the issuance of shares corresponding to the equity of the former controlling Westmont Bank stockholders prior to the quasi-reorganization and leveraged buyout of the stockholders’ controlling interest by UOBL. Said petition has since been settled and "dismissed with prejudice."

Lim stressed that the "Farmix Group cannot share in the benefits of the Espiritu Group’s hard work in its complaint against the UOBL Group."

He noted that at the time the Espiritu Group was preparing to file the complaint against UOBL, the Farmix Group refused to pay the filing fees. The said fees amounted to P11.6 million.

Lim noted that records of the UOBP would bear that the percentage of interest of the Farmix Group in the bank is only 7.66 percent, and not the 10.36 percent they are claiming.

"This is certified no less than by the corporate secretary of UOBL," he added.

He also clarified that the Farmix Group’s share in then Westmont Bank was "left in a deposit with United Overseas Bank of the Philippines pursuant to the settlement worked out by the Espiritu and Tan Caktiong Groups and the UOBL Group."

"Their worries could easily be put to rest by accepting the deposit of the monetary equivalent of their 7.66 percent with UOBP," Lim said.