Infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. on Wednesday defended the P4.63-per-share tender offer price for the proposed acquisition of MPIC shares held by the public and the group’s proposed delisting.
MPIC chairman Manuel Pangilinan said in a news briefing the low valuation of MPIC shares over the past years had prevented the company from tapping the capital markets to raise funds for finance its projects.
“Why are we a public company when we cannot raise [funds from] public? How can we raise equity money at a very low price,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan said while the company’s share price picked up in the past few weeks because of the planned entry of new investors and improvement in the financial performance of subsidiaries, the price remained below P5 per share.
Several brokerage houses reportedly advised clients not to tender their shares in MPIC, saying the offer price is low compared to its net asset value. “We are not against reconsidering the offer price, but we are not saying we will improve the offer price. We are currently monitoring the share price movement of MPIC. So far, there is no indication as to why we should adjust the offer,” Pangilinan said.