San Miguel sets preferred share price at P75

MANILA, Philippines – Diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp. has priced its preferred shares at P75 each, a 25-percent premium over the event price of its common shares.

San Miguel last month approved a plan that allows its shareholders to swap their common shares with preferred shares to appease shareholders’ concerns about company’s direction.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, San Miguel said the preferred shares will have a dividend rate of eight percent per annum.

San Miguel A shares, which is exclusive to Filipinos, went up 7.1 percent to P60 yesterday while the B shares, open to both Filipinos and foreigners, rose 6.2 percent to close at P60.

Under the plan, San Miguel is exchanging as much as 1.1 billion of its common shares, accounting for 35 percent of its outstanding capital, for high-yielding preferred shares.

The exchange ratio will be one preferred share for every common share. The preferred shares will not be listed on the stock exchange.