EDC returning 15% of tendered shares to equity holders

Energy Development Corp. (EDC) on Monday said it will return to shareholders 15 percent of the shares tendered in an acquisition deal, after buyer Philippines Renewable Energy Holdings Corp. (PREHC) subscriber to only 85 percent of the shareholdings in the deal.

Erudito Recio, EDC assistant vice president and head of investor relations told the Philippine Stock Exchange over the weekend, that PREHC is buying only 8,900,000,000 common shares out of the total tender offer of 10,472,366,566 common shares.

"A total of 1,572,366,753 common shares, representing approximately 15 percent of the total number of tendered common shares, will be returned to the relevant shareholders," Recio noted.

"[A]ll common shares tendered (including all common shares tendered by First Gen Corporation and Northern Terracotta Power Corp.) will be scaled back on a pro-rate basis (and rounded down to the nearest share) in accordance to the tender offer conditions," he added.

According to the company, it priced the tender offer at P7.25 per common share for a gross gain of P64.525 billion from the offer—rather than P75,924,657,603.50 if  PREHC had subscribed to total number of shares tendered.

Share prices of EDC closed at P6.00 per share on Monday, down P1.07 or 15.13 percent from P7.07 on Friday.

EDC was the biggest loser among the companies on the bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi).

RCBC Securities Inc. equity research analyst Jeffrey Lucero noted the return of the shares tendered that prompted a sell-off in EDC shares.

"EDC is declining due to its disclosure that 1,572,366,753 shares, representing 15 percent of total number of tendered shares, will be returned to shareholders," he said.

EDC earlier said the proceeds from the transaction will be used to settle debt and support future growth, setting the stage for a possible delisting from the PSE. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News