Insider Spotlight
San Miguel Global Power may sell all or part of its 46.6 million Meralco shares, a 4.13-percent stake currently worth about P19.43 billion.
No buyer, price or timetable has been identified, and the board approval does not guarantee a transaction.
San Miguel acquired the shares from Landbank in 2025 at P90 each, completing a deal signed 17 years earlier.
The approval, disclosed by tycoon Ramon S. Ang-led SMC on Friday, does not guarantee a deal will happen. In the filing, SMC said authorized representatives were also given approval to negotiate terms and conditions of a sale or transfer of shares.
San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. owns 4.13 percent of Meralco, worth about P19.4 billion, based on the current market price.
How SMC got the stake
San Miguel acquired 46.6 million Meralco shares from Landbank in 2025, completing a purchase agreed upon 17 years earlier.
The two sides signed the deal in December 2008 at P90 per share—in the midst of a race for control of the country’s biggest electricity distributor by Ang and tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan—but a legal dispute prevented Landbank from delivering the shares.
SMC later went to court to enforce their agreement and the case was eventually resolved in its favor, allowing the transfer to proceed at the same P90 price.
When the transfer was finalized in July 2025, Meralco was trading at about P544 per share, meaning San Miguel Global Power Holdings acquired the shares at a roughly 90-percent discount.
Why now?
The timing is notable because Ang personally acquired a 25.7-percent stake in Lopez Inc. in August.
Lopez Inc. is the ultimate parent of Lopez-led First Philippine Holdings, a publicly-listed power and real estate firm that still owns 3.94 percent of Meralco.
This potential deal comes as Ang builds ties with the family that once controlled the utility.
Who owns Meralco now?
Today, San Miguel Global Power Holdings is Manila Electric Co.’s third-largest shareholder after Pangilinan-backed Metro Pacific Investments, with about 47.5 percent, and the Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings, with 26.37 percent.
The original Lopez family owners retain stakes via First Philippine Holdings Corp., with 3.94 percent, and Mantes Corp., with 0.03 percent. Mantes is controlled by the heirs of former Meralco chair, president and CEO Manolo Lopez.
Market pressure builds
Meralco had been one of the stock market’s strongest performers, but selling pressure intensified after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for the removal of system-loss charges from electricity bills during his July State of the Nation Address.
Meralco shares are trading at P417, down 27.57 percent since the start of the year.
Meralco shares are trading at P417, down 27.57 percent since the start of the year, erasing roughly P179 billion in market value.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
