A 'Sharp' price to pay

The continuing legal tug-of-war between Ricardo “Carding” Silverio Sr. and Ricardo “Ricky” Silverio Jr. has definitely cost father and son their relationship, not to mention hefty litigation expenses over the years. Observers note that the long-running familial acrimony is causing the dissipation of the Silverio fortune, with a lot of potential business opportunities passing them by. A case in point is Sharp (Philippines) Corp., a joint venture between the Sharp Corp. of Japan and Pilipinas Development Corp. (PDC) whose ownership is being disputed – although numerous court decisions have affirmed Ricky Jr. to be the majority shareholder in PDC. The Silverios’ Japanese partners have been wanting to buy off PDC but the multi-billion peso deal cannot be completed because of the dispute involving the Silverios.

Those in the know attribute the Silverio fortune to Beatriz Sison who was already a millionaire when she married Carding whom she reportedly put through college. Unfortunately, Beatriz died intestate but accounts say the Silverio family lawyer, who was then terminally ill, got bothered by his conscience and told Ricky the alleged plan of his father to transfer PDC stock certificates to Carding’s ex-secretary and current wife Lorna Cillan – contrary to the wishes of the late Beatriz Silverio.

The father subsequently accused the son of stealing the stock certificates but this was dismissed by the courts based on several documents and the fact that Carding – who was then Bulacan mayor – failed to disclose ownership information in his Statement of Assets and Liabilities. The Silverio saga is one more proof of the ‘Sharp’ price to pay for a bitter family feud.

Labor turmoil at Tower Club

Spy Bits sources disclosed the brewing labor turmoil at the Tower Club, with employees complaining about the new management. Regular employees receive a full “annual Christmas assessment” (similar to a bonus) based on service charge, but it seems the new management has devised a scheme to cut the amount by conducting an “appraisal” – which is ordinarily done when appraising the performance of a probationary employee prior to regularization, for promotions and salary adjustments. Employees suspect that the so-called “appraisal” would justify arbitrary cuts on the amount to be given per employee, with the “leftover money” allegedly going to the pockets of the Mancom members who are reportedly giving themselves P100,000 each. Tower Club staff are allegedly grumbling about management officials who treat the club as their personal playground and restaurant, with one particular official held in such contempt for being rude. Insiders claim that if the simmering resentment is not addressed soon, employees might file a complaint before the Department of Labor – something that a high-end establishment like the Tower Club would not want.

At last for Atlas

In 1989, Atlas Consolidated Mining & Development Corp.  (AT) owned by the Andres Soriano family fought a hostile takeover from National Bookstore’s Fred Ramos.  This was the first recorded hostile takeover in the Philippines.  Ramos wrested control of AT from the Sorianos but the very low prices of copper in the ‘90s made it economically difficult to operate the copper mine in Toledo, Cebu. Nevertheless, Fred Ramos held on to Atlas and today, the company is still in full swing with continued strong demand for the red metal from China, India and other emerging economies.  

This Nov. 9, AT will have its Annual Stockholders Meeting and it is widely anticipated that the Henry Sy/SM/BDO Group which recently acquired a substantial stake in Atlas (at P19.56 per share) will be on equal footing with the Ramos group in terms of shareholdings.  Talk within the local and foreign banking circle is that the AT stock is grossly undervalued and early next year – per advise by AT’s foreign investment banker – the company will have a private placement of its shares within the of P30 to P35 range per share. 

The same foreign investment banker offered to distribute AT shares via private placement within the fourth quarter at P25 per share, but the equities market slump since August up to early October (due to the debt crisis in Europe) made the owners decide to move the private placement to 2012 in anticipation of better market conditions. As a matter of fact, this is already happening with the Dow Jones index moving from 10,600 level back to the 11,900 level (thanks to the European bailout plan) which will give the Atlas owners at last, a higher price per share.

Spy tidbit

US Ambassador Harry Thomas graced the recent People Asia event celebrating the 100^th Anniversary of Chevrolet at the Rockwell Power Plant Mall. Although Ambassador Thomas made a lot of effort to stay, he had to leave apparently because of a respiratory virus. Sources told us that a lot of people in the US Embassy have been afflicted with a virus which they suspect probably came from the flood waters that submerged the Embassy premises at the height of Typhoon Pedring.

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