PAL for sale -- SMC interested?

[chairwrecker]

San Miguel Corp. keen on acquiring majority stake in PAL | The Philippine Star >> News >> Business (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=591467&publicationSubCategoryId=66)


Interesting turn of events. But with statements like “the airline business is a very simple business,” makes me wonder if SMC knows what they are about to get themselves into. :E

[Aerocadet]

Haha! Maybe SMC officials were drunk when they agreed on that. Joke! :ok:

Isn't PAL considering to merge with other airlines? Just like the Delta-Nortwest Merger? I wonder what will happen if PAL merges with an international airline. :eek:

[jetcruiser]

PAL to SMC

Airphil is to LT

I believed we have seen this picture before, PAL being sold or transferred to another owner.

I wish you guys good changes:) if ever this happens.


JC

[win_faa]

SMC is only interested in their beer division. If PAL is brought by SMC, it will just have the same fate like Coca Cola. Thats why Coca Cola brought back their company because it was poorly managed by SMC...

[a345xxx]

Maybe they might lift the 8 hrs bottle to throttle rule! If you are consuming company products! :)

[chairwrecker]

Lucio Tan willing to sell PAL if 'price is right' | The Philippine Star >> News >> Business (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=648709&publicationSubCategoryId=66)

if there's a deal, can't they just sign the d*mn thing and get on with it? :ok:

[capt. solipsist]

SMC has just signed a tie-up agreement not with PAL, but with Jetstar. LCCs in PH now aplenty :ok:

[subsonic69]

meow meow..
:D

[cessna95]

San Miguel Corp. has firmed up a deal to acquire 49 percent of tycoon Lucio Tan’s PAL Holdings Inc. for about $500 million, thereby obtaining a significant foothold in national flag carrier Philippine Airlines.

Inquirer sources said SMC and the group of Lucio Tan agreed in principle for the former to buy into PAL’s parent company before the SMC’s exclusivity period lapsed in end-March.

An emergency board meeting was convened by PAL Holdings on Monday afternoon to discuss the deal with SMC, which had been in the works for the last three months.

The sources said that under the arrangement, SMC would buy 49 percent of PAL Holdings, a publicly listed entity. The structure of the deal is described by sources as complex but in the end, SMC’s entry in PAL’s parent company is seen giving it an effective 40-percent control of the airline. As expected, SMC will have management control of the airline.

SMC’s entry as Tan’s strategic partner was seen helping in the refleeting and modernization of the aircraft of Philippine Airlines in preparation for the projected heavy influx of tourists in the coming years, which will be beneficial to the Philippine tourism industry.

The purchase price was in line with PAL Holdings’ current valuation at the stock market. As of Monday, its shares were up 0.49 percent at P8.18 a share, giving it a market capitalization of P44.13 billion.

Industry sources said Tan and SMC president Ramon Ang had been in talks for the latter’s potential investment in PAL, initially meant as a personal venture for Ang, who is himself a pilot. However, SMC itself had become interested in the airline, leading to a memorandum of understanding signed last December that paved the way for a due diligence audit.

The airline business is seen in line with SMC’s diversification into infrastructure-building. San Miguel is investing about $300 million to modernize and set up new tourism amenities at the Godofredo P. Ramos airport in Caticlan, the main gateway to the world-famous Boracay Island. The conglomerate has also expressed interest to participate in the public bidding for the public-private partnership airport contracts.

Ang has been in on-and-off talks to invest in PAL over the last few years.

Ang’s business rival, First Pacific Co. Ltd. executive director Manuel V. Pangilinan, likewise expressed interest in PAL and while an alternative offer was kept as a back-up plan, industry sources said Tan himself and his brother Harry Tan had favored Ang’s proposal.

PAL earlier got an imprimatur from Malacañang to spin off its catering, ground handling and call-center reservations units, making it easier for the airline to attract investors. The spin-off plan is a measure intended to stabilize PAL’s finances due to the lingering effects of the global recession.