First Holdings thumbs down KKR offer
First Philippine Holdings Corp. of the Lopez Group has rejected Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. proposal to buy a portion of its stake in First Gen Corp., saying that the offer does not represent the listed power firm’s true value.
The Lopez Group's First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) has dismissed a proposal from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR) to acquire a stake in First Gen Corp. The offer, which KKR intends to present as a non-binding voluntary tender, was deemed insufficient by FPH, which asserted that it does not reflect First Gen's true value.
FPH advised KKR of its decision not to consider the proposal. Earlier, FPH revealed its evaluation of KKR's offer to buy 8.43 percent of First Gen's common shares, with plans to launch a tender offer for the remaining 11.67 percent of First Gen's outstanding common shares. This tender is intended to support a petition for First Gen's voluntary delisting from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
First Gen, a significant player in the Philippines' power sector, is a subsidiary of FPH. KKR already holds a 19.9-percent economic interest in First Gen through its common stock ownership. Managing director Juan Paolo Colet of China Bank Capital Corp. suggested that by rejecting the offer, First Gen maintains the possibility of receiving a more appealing proposal from KKR or another potential bidder.
Written by urgent.news from Philippine Star Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
