JG Summit Holdings Inc., the flagship of the Gokongwei Group, has raised P12.38 billion from the sale of 36 million shares of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) through an overnight block trade.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said its Board of Directors had approved the sale of 36 million Meralco shares at P344 per share.
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The 36 million shares are equivalent to a 3.19 percent stake in Meralco. JG Summit is Meralco’s second biggest shareholder and had 333.19 million Meralco shares or a 29.56 percent stake in the utility prior to the block sale.
JG Summit said it entered into a Secondary Block Trade Agreement with UBS AG, Singapore Branch under which it appointed UBS as its sole agent look for buyers or to itself buy the 36 million Meralco shares.
The PSE had approved the application for a block sale and the shares were crossed through the facilities of the bourse. Settlement is anticipated to occur three trading days thereafter.
A stock analyst noted that JG Summit bought about 309 million Meralco shares in 2013 for P235 per share and had received cash dividends of P154.262 per share since then.
“So, dividend-adjusted average acquisition cost is about P80.738 per share. Sale price equates to a return of 326 percent over eight years,” he added.