Tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan’s group may further pare down its stake in Indonesian toll road unit PT Margautama Nusantara (MUN) to bankroll its share in the $1-billion Jasamarga Transjawa Tol (JTT) investment.
Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the Salim family-controlled firm which Pangilinan leads, owns an indirect 60.3 percent stake in MUN via toll road arm Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) with Singaporean investment fund GIC holds 33 percent.
In a regulatory filing, First Pacific said MPTC can partly finance the JTT purchase via the sale of an additional stake in MUN to GIC. This is on top of bank loans and internal cash sources.
Maintaining control
Rogelio Singson, the CEO of MPTC, told InsiderPH they were open to the sale of secondary shares in MUN with the intention to maintain control of the firm, which has expressways in Jakarta and eastern Indonesia.
Earlier this week, MPTC and GIC announced the joint acquisition of a 35 percent stake in JTT, which manages an extensive network of toll roads in Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s most populous country.
Toll road crown jewel
Under the present terms of the deal, MPTC will own 24.5 percent of JTT while GIC, through subsidiary Warrington Investment Pte. Ltd., will own 10.5 percent.
Spanning 676 kilometers, this expressway is regarded as Indonesia’s crown jewel, facilitating the daily movement of 850,000 vehicles across Java Island.
The deal requires regulatory approval and the fulfillment of other closing conditions before completion.
Mega merger in the works
This is developing while MPTC is in merger talks with the toll road business of conglomerate San Miguel Corp.
Earlier, Singson said the combined expressway giant, which mainly operates expressways in Metro Manila, parts of Luzon, and Cebu, could be listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange by 2025.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
