Maharlika completes ATI share acquisition

MANILA, Philippines — The Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) has completed the transfer of shares acquired through its tender offer for Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI), securing a stake in one of the country’s most crucial port and logistics infrastructure operators.

In a statement, the sovereign fund manager said the shares tendered in the transaction were accepted and crossed the Philippine Stock Exchange facilities on March 13.

The settlement was completed yesterday.

“When we first announced this intent in December, I described the port sector as the circulatory system of the Philippine economy. Today, we have successfully secured our place within that system,” MIC president and CEO Rafael Consing said.

MIC said the shares acquired include those from Seawood Resources Inc., Kayak Holdings Inc. and Asiasec Equities Inc., as well as shares tendered by ATI shareholders during the tender offer.

The offer resulted in the tender of 177.61 million common shares, of which 101.19 million were allocated to MIC. ATI secured 76.42 million shares as part of its share buyback program.

MIC said the investment is poised to increase job creation, improve logistics and supply chain efficiency, and introduce digital solutions to port operations.

“This investment fulfills our mandate to capture value from assets with high barriers to entry and a direct correlation to our nation’s GDP growth,” Consing said.

“With our successful entry and election to the ATI board, we now have the seat at the table necessary to ensure this asset continues to redound to the public benefit,” he added.

MIC’s investment in ATI is valued at up to P8 billion based on ATI’s two billion shares listed on the PSE.

ATI, which is poised to exit the local bourse on April 3, is one of the country’s largest port operators, tasked with managing high-traffic gateways such as the Manila South Harbor and the Port of Batangas.