Metro Pacific Investments Corp. has abandoned plans to sell its 20 percent stake in its toll road unit, opting instead for other options to reduce debt.
“Maybe not anymore,” MPIC chairman Manuel Pangilinan told reporters Wednesday when asked for an update on the planned sale of its stake in Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.
Pangilinan had said in March that the company was in talks with an unnamed investor for a potential private placement.
Pangilinan said MPTC is now looking to raise between P20 billion to P40 billion to reduce its debt.
“We’re trying to raise money for tollways to reduce our debts before any discussion [with San Miguel],” he said, adding that the company is “talking to several investors at this stage.”
Pangilinan said the company is considering issuing perpetual preferred shares or convertible preferred stock to raise capital.
Perpetual preferred stock does not have a fixed maturity date, while convertible preferred stock is a hybrid security with features of both debt and equity.
“For me personally, the perpetual preferred might be a good route for them,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan also expects to complete merger talks with San Miguel Corp. within the year. He had said in March that MPTC had paused those talks due to its efforts to secure funds for debt repayment.
MPTC and San Miguel signed a P72-billion deal in August 2024 to jointly construct, operate and maintain the 87.96-kilometer Cavite-Batangas Expressway and Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway south of Metro Manila.
The MPTC Group has 240.6 kilometers of existing expressways and 43.1 kilometers under construction, representing a total investment of $3.06 billion.
It operates the 105-kilometer North Luzon Expressway, the 94-kilometer Subic Clark-Tarlac Expressway, the 14-kilometer Manila-Cavite Expressway and the 8.5-kilometer Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway in Cebu.
San Miguel’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).
