Asian Terminals to get P8-B investment from Maharlika

Port operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) is delisting from the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to make way for an P8billion investment from the country's sovereign wealth fund.

- By ELIJAH FELICE ROSALES and MARCO LUIS BEECH

In a disclosure to the PSE, ATI said the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) is buying up to 101.19 million common shares from the company through a tender offer to shareholders.

The offer, backed by an independent opinion from MIB Capital Corp., placed the value of shares at P36 apiece.

ATI said it would serve as a co-bidder in the tender offer, which would be matched with a share buyback program of up to P5 billion. ATI will buy back the shares of Eximinious Holdings Inc., Eujo Philippines Inc. and Biolim Holdings and Management Corp.

Afterward, ATI will delist from the main board of the PSE in line with MIC's investment.

MIC is expected to own 11.2 percent of ATI's capital stock by the end of the tender offer.

The investment could amount to more than P8 billion based on ATI's two billion shares listed on the PSE, infusing the company with additional capital for its expansion projects.