PAL Holdings to remain listed – Tan

MANILA, Philippines - Taipan Lucio Tan committed yesterday to keep the parent firm of Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) amid the ongoing voluntary tender offer to buy out the minority shareholders of the national flag carrier.

PAL Holdings Inc. assistant corporate secretary Ma. Cecilia Pesayco informed the PSE yesterday that the company intends to comply with the 10 percent minimum public float requirement of the Exchange once the voluntary tender offer is completed.

“PAL Holdings intends to remain a publicly listed company, and in the event that at the conclusion of the voluntary tender offer, the Exchange’s 10 percent minimum float requirement is breached, the company shall undertake the necessary measure to comply with the rules,” Pesayco said.

PAL Holdings resumed trading in July 12 last year after complying with PSE’s 10 percent minimum public float rule. It managed to increase its float to 10.22 percent after selling 2.41 billion new shares to private investors.

Last Friday, Tan’s Buona Sorte Holdings Inc. and Horizon Global Investments Ltd. launched a voluntary tender offer to allow existing minority shareholders of both PAL and listed PAL Holdings to monetize their investment and divest their shareholdings.

The Tan Group bought back the 49 percent interest of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) through San Miguel Equity Investments Inc. (SMEII) in Trustmark Holdings Corp. for a total consideration of about $1.3 billion last month.

Trustmark owns 89.78 percent of the listed PAL Holdings that controls 98.27 percent of PAL.

Last Sept. 15, Tan who is chairman of PAL took back full control of the airline after completing the $1.3 billion to re-acquire the 49 percent interest that SMC bought in PAL in April 2012.

In April 2012, SMC’s wholly-owned subsidiary SMEII acquired a 49 percent equity interest in Trustmark Holdings Corp. for $500 million.

PAL general manager Jaime Bautista said the voluntary tender offer is not for the purpose of delisting PAL Holdings.

Based on the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), he explained that PAL is not mandated to conduct a mandatory tender offer as the transaction did not involved a change in control in the company.

“Under existing SEC regulations, a company that purchases more than 35 percent of a listed company in order to gain control has the obligation to comply with the mandatory tender offer requirement,” Bautista said.