Indonesian tycoon Anthoni Salim's First Pacific Group said the final buyout price in the P49-billion privatization of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. could still be revised after a powerful association of fund managers joined minority stockholders in demanding better terms.

First Pacific, the single-largest shareholder of the Philippine utilities and infrastructure giant, is among the principal bidders in the P4.63 per share tender offer, which was assailed by a growing number of stockbrokers and investor groups as a lowball price.

Stanley Yang, First Pacific executive vice president for group corporate development, told the Inquirer the offer price was based on a "preliminary" report by an accredited third-party valuation provider and was not yet final.

"The [final] valuation report has not been released yet, it's a work in progress by the third party," Yang said in an interview.

Yang explained the final report was still subject to the approval of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), which has to vet the independence of the third-party provider.

He also said the current tender offer price did not take into account Metro Pacific's latest financials, which showed core profits jumping 38 percent to P4.3 billion in the first quarter due to robust growth from power and toll roads.

"The valuation provider will have to update their analysis to reflect the performance in the first quarter [of 2023]," Yang said.

Final report

He declined to share details on the valuation provider and their preliminary price range, citing a confidentiality clause.

He said the final report will be released once the tender offer is formally launched after Metro Pacific's annual stockholders' meeting on June 6 this year.

Yang's statements came as investors continued to grumble about the low office price.

Recently, the Fund Managers Association of the Philippines and Shareholders Association of the Philippines issued a joint statement calling on the buyers to improve their offer.

First Pacific is buying out all of Metro Pacific's minority stockholders before exiting the PSE through a voluntary delisting process.

Other tender offer buyers are the Ty family's GT Capital Holdings; Manuel V. Pangilinan, Metro Pacific chair and CEO; and a Japanese venture led by industrial giant Mitsui.

Metro Pacific is one of the country's biggest companies and is part of the benchmark PSE index. INQ