• First Gen confirms delisting is an option, but no firm plan yet
• Stock jumped nearly 8 percent intraday on disclosure
• Lopez group tightening public footprint after P50-billion gas asset sale
The Lopez family-backed energy giant First Gen Corp. jumped nearly 8 percent on Friday as it confirmed that delisting from the Philippine Stock Exchange is now officially on the table.
The company's stock (FGEN) traded as high as P17.80 each, up about 7.9 percent, on Friday morning before paring gains to P17.30, up almost 5 percent before the noontime break.
News report confirmed
“First Gen Corporation confirms that delisting the company is one of the options available to it, and one that the company may consider in the future,” the company said in response to clarification to an exclusive report by InsiderPH.
“However, at the moment, there are no definitive plans to delist the company,” it added.
This reflects a shift in the Lopez group, which has been trimming exposure and tightening its public footprint.
It also comes months after the conglomerate secured P50 billion from the sale of most of its gas assets to Enrique Razon Jr.
First Gen celebrates 20th listing anniversary next year
First Gen went public in February 2006 at an initial public offering price of P47 per share.
It’s currently valued at about P59 billion and has a relatively low public ownership level of 11.7 percent, just above the 10 percent required by the PSE.
Should it push through with delisting, the controlling shareholders are required to buy out minority stockholders before privatization.
—Edited by Miguel R. Camus
