A hell of a money-making machine

There’s talk that Antonio Cojuangco paid only P600 million (not P5 billion) for Associated Broadcasting Corp., which operates free TV Channel 5.

At P600 million – ABC’s net value after subtracting bad debts – the investment is within the range of Tonyboy Cojuangco’s wallet, particularly if he can get in brother, Ramon Cojuangco Jr., as partner.

As everybody knows, Mr. Cojuangco and his siblings each got P1 billion Christmas bonus from mother Imelda Ongsiako Cojuangco after the family sold its Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. stake to the First Pacific Group in 1999.

Even without that one-time windfall, Mr. Cojuangco has made money for himself through investment banking.

Largely because of his love life, many forget that Mr. Cojuangco is a certified brainiac, graduating summa cum laude from Ateneo de Manila University. He also holds an MBA from Stanford University.

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Should the Court of St. James accept his credentials, former Finance Secretary and current treasurer of the Lakas political party Edgardo Espiritu will have to deal with companies interested in doing business in the Philippines.

This could be a problem, given how Ed Espiritu has dealt in the past with the Malaysian partner of National Steel Co. and the Singaporean partner of Westmont Bank (now called United Overseas Bank (Phils.).

One of the biggest deals open to foreign investors is the National Transmission Corp., which is looking for a strategic partner. The NTC, which controls the "road" through which electricity generated by producers are moved to distributors and retailers, is expected to be one hell of a money-making machine.

There’s talk that the United Kingdom version of NTC is very, very interested in buying a stake.

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With a Tier-2 float to worry about, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chairman Rizalino Navarro doesn’t like to hear or read anything bad. So, Roy Navarro spent part of last Saturday drafting a letter on his take of the last working day of resigned president Valentin Araneta.

Here’s the gist of the letter.

"Mr. Araneta’s and RCBC’s parting of ways was done in the most civilized and cordial manner. Allow me to recount to you the events of June 30, Mr. Araneta’s last day in office. As you may recall, RCBC had its annual stockholders meeting on that day, preceded by a board meeting attended by president Araneta. The board passed a resolution thanking president Araneta for his services and contributions to the bank. Subsequently, the bank held a cocktail reception in honor of Val attended by senior members of management. We had a pleasant evening and I don’t think Val had a "lonely walk" out of the place.

"In fact, let me share with you the e-mail sent to every officer of the bank on the same bank. I said "Please join me in thanking Val for his contributions to the bank’s advancement. Not only did I enjoy working with Val, I benefited a lot from his views and suggestions. He is a professional par excellence. I wish him the best in any undertaking he will pursue, including reducing his golf handicap."