By Myrna M. Velasco
Lopez majority-owned Energy Development Corporation (EDC) has formally petitioned the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) and sought its approval on the company’s voluntary market delisting effective November 29 this year.
EDC Logo
/Manila Bulletin
It similarly apprised the local bourse that this shall be consummated following the completion of its scheduled tender offer kicking off at 9:00am on September 24 and will wind down at 12 noon on October 22.
EDC further indicated that “upon completion of the tender offer and following the cross date, we will submit to the PSE a supplemental report containing the results of the tender offer, as well as supporting documents evidencing compliance by the company with the terms of the tender offer, including (its) publication.”
The company’s board has approved last month the decision to opt out from the market as a publicly listed business entity.
But it qualified that prior to final delisting from the stock market, it will undertake tender offer for its 2,040,006,713 common shares – representing all of its common shares held by the public.
The tender offer has been priced at P7.25 per share; and it will be “subject to a minimum 1,162,000,000 common shares being tendered and eligible for acceptance by EDC through the tender offer.”
That will then reduce the percentage of shares held by the public from 10.9-percent to less then 5.0-percent; which in essence, will already allow EDC’s delisting from the stock market.
It has been emphasized then that the firm’s tender offer “represents 46-percent premium over the closing share price of P4.95 on 7 August 2018 and a 40-percent premium over the three-month volume weighted average price of P5.18.”
According to its independent financial adviser KPMG, the calculated tender offer price “is fair and reasonable from a financial point of view.”
EDC President and Chief Operating Officer Richard B. Tantoco previously explained that “the intention to eventually delist EDC was shared with the market last year.”