ATI delisting from PSE on April 3

MANILA, Philippines — Port giant Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) has secured the approval of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to exit the main board on April 3 following the completion of its tender offer.

In a disclosure, ATI said it has received approval of its petition for the voluntary delisting of its common shares from the main board of the PSE.

ATI said it is delisting to make way for investments from the country’s sovereign wealth fund Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC).

To free up ownership of shares, ATI undertook a tender offer from Feb. 2 to March 3. By the end of the tender offer, ATI, together with MIC, bought out enough publicly owned shares to exceed the 95-percent threshold to delist from the PSE.

The buyers in the tender offer purchased a total of 177.61 million common shares, translating to 9.16 percent of ATI’s outstanding capital stock. The shares were bought for P36 a piece or P6.39 billion, which were settled on March 17.

As a result, private investors in ATI raised their ownership to 99.26 percent, shrinking the public float to less than one percent after the tender offer.

ATI’s private owners include logistics multinational DP World; urban planner Felino Palafox Jr.; DigiPlus Interactive Corp. owner Eusebio Tanco; and now, sovereign wealth fund MIC.

ATI is welcoming MIC to its management, and seats in its board of directors will be increased from eight to nine to add a representative from the country’s sovereign wealth fund.

Based on ATI’s general information sheet, MIC owns 11.94 percent of the company. ATI is still largely owned by DP World Australia Pty. Ltd. at 18.61 percent.

For ATI, opting out of the PSE gives it flexibility to accelerate its expansion push. By becoming a private firm, ATI will no longer be mandated to disclose each and every transaction as required of publicly listed entities.

For MIC, ATI is an investment play that positions it into the heart of the global supply chain, which is only projected to expand further as economies scale up.

ATI is one of the country’s biggest port operators, holding the concession for high-traffic projects like the Manila South Harbor and the Port of Batangas.