The Lopez group of companies is planning to use First Philippine Holdings Corporation to buy for up to P17.5 billion all the public shares of Lopez Holdings Corporation which it plans to eventually delist from the bourse.
In disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Lopez Holdings said itsBoard of Directors acknowledged the conduct by FPHC of a tender offer to acquire a minimum of 20 percent and a maximum of 45.56 percent of the total issued and outstanding Lopez common shares from all the minority shareholders at a price of P3.85 per share.
This will not include the shares owned by its ultimate parent entity, Lopez, Inc. which has agreed not to tender its common shares.
The tender offer is intended to start on January 22, 2021 up to February 19, 2021, said FPHC Vice President and Assistant Corporate Secretary Esmeraldo Amistad.
In this connection, the Lopez Holdings Board has authorized the filing of a petition for voluntary delisting of the Corporation from the Main Board of the PSE.
“It is always a good sign when you see an offer for your shares with a significant premium over the market price,” Lopez Holdings President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Finance Officer Salvador G. Tirona said.
He added that, “We will be happy for the shareholders who decide to avail of this opportunity to liquidate their investment.”
Tirona noted that, “If FPH’s tender offer is successful, LPZ will be delisted as part of the Lopez Group’s effort to consolidate the ownership of Lopez Holdings and to streamline the Lopez Group’s corporate structure by reducing the number of Group holding companies currently listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange from two to just one.”
FPHC’s Tender Offer Price of P3.85 represents a 25 percent premium over LPZ’s closing share price of P3.08 on November 27, 2020 and a 41 percent, 43percent and 36 percent premium over LPZ’s 3-month, 6-month and 12-month volume weighted average price of P2.74, P2.69 and P2.82, respectively.
The Tender Offer Price also represents a 22perent premium over LPZ’s 6-month closing high as of November 27, 2020 of P3.15.
The Board of Directors of LPZ has approved the engagement of an independent financial advisor to provide a fairness opinion on FPH’s Tender Offer Price.