PLDT [TEL 1318.00 2.6%] https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMifmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnBoaWxzdGFyLmNvbS9idXNpbmVzcy9zdG9jay1jb21tZW50YXJ5LzIwMjMvMDMvMDIvMjI0ODczOC9xdWljay10YWtlLXVwc29ucy1pcG8tdGltZWxpbmUtYW5kLTMtbW9yZS1tYXJrZXQtdXBkYXRlc9IBgwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5waGlsc3Rhci5jb20vYnVzaW5lc3Mvc3RvY2stY29tbWVudGFyeS8yMDIzLzAzLzAyLzIyNDg3MzgvcXVpY2stdGFrZS11cHNvbnMtaXBvLXRpbWVsaW5lLWFuZC0zLW1vcmUtbWFya2V0LXVwZGF0ZXMvYW1wLw?oc=5 presented the documents requested by the Makati City Treasurer as part of his dispute with SMART Communications, a TEL subsidiary, over P3.2 billion in unpaid “franchise tax”. TEL described the filing as “part of ongoing discussions” between SMART and the city government.
MB Quick Take: I don’t know enough about this dispute to know if the flashy closure of SMART’s headquarters was necessary to get to this point. It could be said that TEL’s submission of documents proves Makati City was right in what it did, but TEL’s quick approval was perhaps the most expedient move given the negative attention that a prolonged conflict could draw. I think the amount of data requested by the Makati City Treasurer is outrageous, but that is purely because of my status as an investor and business person. I am not a tax or government law expert.
Upson International [UPSON] https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMifmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnBoaWxzdGFyLmNvbS9idXNpbmVzcy9zdG9jay1jb21tZW50YXJ5LzIwMjMvMDMvMDIvMjI0ODczOC9xdWljay10YWtlLXVwc29ucy1pcG8tdGltZWxpbmUtYW5kLTMtbW9yZS1tYXJrZXQtdXBkYXRlc9IBgwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5waGlsc3Rhci5jb20vYnVzaW5lc3Mvc3RvY2stY29tbWVudGFyeS8yMDIzLzAzLzAyLzIyNDg3MzgvcXVpY2stdGFrZS11cHNvbnMtaXBvLXRpbWVsaW5lLWFuZC0zLW1vcmUtbWFya2V0LXVwZGF0ZXMvYW1wLw?oc=5 updated its IPO schedule yesterday. The computer parts retailer will now price its offer on March 16th, with a March 21st – March 27th offer period. UPSON listing is postponed to April 3rd. Nothing appears to have changed in the essential terms of the offer.
MB Quick Take: Yesterday was UPSON’s pricing date on the old schedule and there was a lot of speculation on Twitter and other forums as to whether UPSON’s bid would be withdrawn a second time for “market conditions” after the PSE resumes trading midway through the 6000s. I have no information as to whether the delay was due to PSE’s own planning or whether UPSON itself took more time to find out its prices. Let’s wait and see.
MRC allies [MRC 4.18] https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMifmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnBoaWxzdGFyLmNvbS9idXNpbmVzcy9zdG9jay1jb21tZW50YXJ5LzIwMjMvMDMvMDIvMjI0ODczOC9xdWljay10YWtlLXVwc29ucy1pcG8tdGltZWxpbmUtYW5kLTMtbW9yZS1tYXJrZXQtdXBkYXRlc9IBgwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5waGlsc3Rhci5jb20vYnVzaW5lc3Mvc3RvY2stY29tbWVudGFyeS8yMDIzLzAzLzAyLzIyNDg3MzgvcXVpY2stdGFrZS11cHNvbnMtaXBvLXRpbWVsaW5lLWFuZC0zLW1vcmUtbWFya2V0LXVwZGF0ZXMvYW1wLw?oc=5 signed (“signed”, according to the disclosure) a letter of intent to purchase 500 million shares of Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. [PTT] from Menlo Capital Corporation (MCC) for P1.00/share. MRC and MCC intend to complete the transaction within 60 days. MRC said that the acquisition of the PTT shares will allow MRC to “capture [PTT’s] available facilities for the proposed business ventures in the information and communication technology field.” MRC is a subsidiary of MCC owned by Buddy Zamora and Benjie Bitanga. MCC is also the parent company of PTT.
MB Quick Take: If this goes through, this is essentially a transfer of shareholder funds from MRC to its owners. It is not clear why MRC would need to buy shares in PTT in order to ‘use’ PTT’s facilities, as in theory any old business arrangement could have achieved the same thing between the sister companies. I’m not sure what’s happening here. PTT has been suspended longer than some investors were alive and neither MRC nor MCC are very forthcoming about how this deal will advance the interests of trapped PTT shareholders or MRC’s public shareholders.
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Gre energy [GREEN 1.18 1.7%] https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMifmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnBoaWxzdGFyLmNvbS9idXNpbmVzcy9zdG9jay1jb21tZW50YXJ5LzIwMjMvMDMvMDIvMjI0ODczOC9xdWljay10YWtlLXVwc29ucy1pcG8tdGltZWxpbmUtYW5kLTMtbW9yZS1tYXJrZXQtdXBkYXRlc9IBgwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5waGlsc3Rhci5jb20vYnVzaW5lc3Mvc3RvY2stY29tbWVudGFyeS8yMDIzLzAzLzAyLzIyNDg3MzgvcXVpY2stdGFrZS11cHNvbnMtaXBvLXRpbWVsaW5lLWFuZC0zLW1vcmUtbWFya2V0LXVwZGF0ZXMvYW1wLw?oc=5 announced that its board and shareholders have approved subscriptions from 16 different companies “on multiple dates” between 2010 and 2019 for 661 million GREEN shares at a price of P1.00/share. The shares will begin trading on March 3, with 227.5 million shares owned by Ann Loraine Buencamino, James Tiu, Jaime Tiu and Antonio Tius Earthright Holdings on lockdown. According to GREEN’s disclosure, the listing will have no impact on GREEN’s issued or outstanding shares.
MB Quick Take: These types of moves always catch my attention because they are the type of moves to clean up a company’s holdings that you can see before that company acquires a large investor or does any type of capital raise. It’s possible the board thought it was high time after 12 years for some of these shares to be listed, but I’ll be watching this company closely to see if trading volume picks up again tomorrow and where the stock is headed. The current market price is an 18% premium to the buy-in price. So if these transactions were to close for administrative reasons, we might see some selling pressure. If they were completed in view of a potential investment we might see some buying pressure. I don’t really mess with this ecosystem of companies, so I’ll just wait and see what happens.
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