Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. is aiming for a 50-50 split in the ownership for the proposed merger with San Miguel Corp.’s tollway business.
“Ideally, it should be 50-50. And on our side at the MPTC, that is what we want. So, it’s something that we cannot speculate because in these kinds of mergers, we have financial advisors. And we’re in that stage where they’re studying,” MPTC senior executive Arrey Perez told reporters when asked for a comment on an online report that San Miguel wanted a 90-10 percent ownership sharing.
“For us, it’s 50-50. That’s a very ideal scenario. It’s a balancing act. Our preference from our side is 50-50. It is accounting. So it’s just a simple balancing,” he said.
Perez said the completion of the merger would depend on the valuation of their financial advisors.
“It’s not in our hands because it’s in the hands of financial advisors. And of course, there are also regulatory approvals that we need to secure. So now, that is out of our hands,” Perez said.
“We want this done immediately. I would say that. We want this done immediately,” he said.
The toll unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and San Miguel signed in August 2024 a P72-billion deal to construct two expressways south of Metro Manila.
Under the memorandum of agreement, MPTC and SMC will jointly undertake the construction, operation and maintenance of the 87.96-kilometer Cavite-Batangas Expressway and Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway.
The MPTC Group has 240.6 kilometers of existing expressways and 43.1 kilometers under construction, with a total investment of $3.06 billion. It operates 105 kilometers of North Luzon Expressway, 94 km. of Subic Clark-Tarlac Expressway and 14 km. of Manila-Cavite Expressway. It also operates 8.5-km. Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway in Cebu.
SMC’s expressways include the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX), the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR), South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), the Skyway System and the NAIA Expressway (NAIAX).
