Ayala Corporation is giving its shareholders shares of stock of subsidiary AC Energy Corporation (ACEN) worth about P4.5 billion as a property dividend.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Ayala said its Board of Directors has approved the declaration of property dividends consisting of the ACEN shares acquired from wholly owned subsidiary AC Energy and Infrastructure Corporation.

AC is acquiring 1.86 billion ACEN common shares from ACEIC via a block sale at prevailing market prices. The authority to negotiate the specific terms and conditions of the purchase, including the transaction price, on behalf of AC, has been delegated to the Chief Finance Officer Alberto M. de Larrazabal, and Treasurer Estelito C. Biacora, acting jointly.

AC’s common shareholders will be entitled to the property dividend at a ratio of three ACEN shares for every one AC common share, subject to the completion of the acquisition of ACEN shares by AC and applicable regulatory approvals.

The record date for the property dividend is on May 27, 2022, with payment date to be determined by management after applicable regulatory approvals have been obtained.

“The declaration of property dividends provides the opportunity for AC’s shareholders to directly benefit in one of its recent successful business-building initiatives,” the company said.

In addition, as ACEN’s public float will increase post-transaction, so the property dividend declaration will enable ACEN to meet the 20 percent minimum public ownership requirement for companies included in the PSE Index.

Post-transaction, ACEIC’s ownership level in ACEN will be at 57.8 percent from 62.5 percent.

Meanwhile, Ayala welcomed former Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima and former Singtel Group Chief Executive Chua Sock Koong to its board of directors following their election at the company's annual stockholders meeting.

Purisima and Chua take the seats of outgoing directors Keiichi Matsunaga and Antonio Jose U. Periquet, who had been part of the Ayala board since April 2017 and September 2010, respectively.

Aside from serving as the country’s finance chief from 2010 to 2016, Purisima also served as Chairman and Country Managing Partner of the Philippines' largest professional services firm, SGV & Co.

Chua is currently senior advisor at Singtel, Asia's leading communications technology group, where she also served as group CEO for 13 years until December 2020.

She is currently the Deputy Chairman of Singapore's Public Service Commission and a member of the Council of Presidential Advisers and the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council.

Ayala Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said, "We always strive to achieve sufficient diversity of thinking across our board representation and have worked to create a proper combination of knowledge, experience, and expertise to guide management.”

“With an increasing demand for companies to adhere to new ESG standards, we understand the need to always focus on revisiting our board composition and allowing transitions to take place at appropriate moments," he added.

Zobel said "We believe Mr. Purisima and Ms. Chua will provide immense value and complement the existing expertise and strengths of our current Directors." He also thanked Matsunaga and Periquet for sharing their wisdom and experience, which helped Ayala withstand various headwinds over the years.