San Miguel denies Picop buy-in by Ang

San Miguel Corp. said the other day it is not buying into Picop Resources, a shell company which has been subject of takeover rumors recently.

In a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange, San Miguel said neither the company nor its president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang have bought into Picop.

“There is no ongoing discussions between Picop and San Miguel/Mr. Ramon Ang or any other party for the acquisition of the company nor use of the company as a vehicle for other business activities,” San Miguel said in a statement. 

This was in reaction to market speculations that Picop is being eyed by the San Miguel Group for a possible backdoor play.

A close associate of Ang said the San Miguel chief executive has no intentions of resorting to that move.

Shares of Picop have risen the past week on the takeover rumor. Picop, however, fell to 56 centavos yesterday after San Miguel denied the report.