San Miguel to pursue P250-B share sale

MANILA, Philippines –  Amid a volatile market, diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp. said it is still pursuing its proposed share issuance worth as much as P250 billion, hopefully in the second quarter.

At the same time, San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said the company expects to close a deal with operators of two toll roads in Southern Luzon in 30 days. “It’s a done deal…It’s up for signing, within 30 days,” said Ang, who refused to give other details.

These are the 9.3-kilometer elevated Skyway from Buendia in Makati to Bicutan, Parañaque, and the 19-kilometer Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) that runs from Sto. Tomas to Batangas City. Star Tollways is San Miguel’s partner in its bid for the operation of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) north of Manila.

On the other hand, the Skyway is operated by Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp. (CMMTC). The Skyway 2 project, which extends the toll road up to Alabang, Muntinlupa, is ongoing.

The share issuance, which could involve up to one billion shares, is expected to be the country’s biggest share sale ever.

San Miguel has been shying away from its traditional food and beverage businesses as it aggressively shifts to power, infrastructure, mining, and telecommunications to fuel faster growth.

The group is planning to participate in all the projects that the government would offer under its Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program for infrastructure as it sees enormous opportunities in this sector to cut its reliance on food and beer.

Among these PPP projects, SMC was most interested in the construction of the 100-kilometer Batangas-Manila (Batman 1) natural gas pipeline project.

San Miguel, which makes nine out of every 10 beers sold in the Philippines, began selling parts of key businesses in 2007 to fund a shift into energy and infrastructure. Among its investments include a joint venture with Qatar Telecommunications Co., a stake in power distributor Manila Electric Co., and a majority interest in top local refiner Petron Corp.

The company is also in talks to buy stakes in railways, toll roads, airport projects and coal mines.