Manila, Oct 28 - San Miguel Corp said on Monday it will purchase 27 percent of power retailer Manila Electric Co from a state pension fund which valued the stake at about 30 billion pesos ($607 million).
San Miguel is also looking at buying shares of oil refiner Petron Corp and wants to team up with Indonesian holding company Bakrie and Brothers for the operations of PT Bumi Resources , Indonesia's biggest coal miner.
If plans pan out, Southeast Asia's largest food and beverage firm will finally venture out of its core business more than a year after it announced the strategic shift to ensure future growth.
Bakrie, the largest shareholder in Bumi Resources with around 30 percent stake, is reported to be looking to sell its Bumi shares to repay debt.
San Miguel said it has received board approval to buy the 27 percent stake held by the Government Service Insurance System in Meralco at 90 pesos per share, more than double Meralco's closing price of 44.50 pesos on Monday.
Winston Garcia, president of the pension fund, said the total stake is valued at 30 billion pesos. Garcia has run into heated arguments with Meralco executives in recent months over the management of the firm.
"We are happy to have sold this at this worst time," Garcia told reporters.
Meralco's profits have been pressured by the weight of capital outlays to maintain its operations and the lack of a tariff hike since 2003.
Energy regulators last week approved a rate increase for Meralco that would have taken effect next month but authorities said on Monday the increase would be deferred pending an appeal from consumers.
San Miguel also said it will start talks with UK investment manager Ashmore Group for a possible stake in Petron.
Ashmore already owns more than 50 percent of Petron and has the right of first refusal over the remaining 40 percent stake in the oil refiner which the government is trying to sell to contain its budget gap.
San Miguel's plans to acquire Petron were not clear. The company did not say if it would partner with Ashmore to buy the the government's stake in the oil firm.
The government is hoping to raise around 25.7 billion pesos by selling its Petron stake at 6.85 pesos per share. But the stake is now valued at just 16.3 billion pesos after the stock market took a severe beating in recent sessions on fears of a global recession.
On Monday, Manila's main stock index <.PSI> plunged a record 12.3 percent to fall to its lowest level in more than four years.
San Miguel, which already dominates its home market in beer, dairy, poultry and processed meats, told Manila's stock exchange that the board approvals were in line with its plans to invest in high-growth industries like mining, power, infrastructure, utilities and property.
The company failed in previous attempts to diversify into power, with unsuccessful bids last year for the government's stake in geothermal power producer Energy Development Corp and the right to operate the country's power grid.
Its move into heavy industry has been criticised by some analysts who say San Miguel did not have the expertise to run such businesses. ($1 = 49.399 pesos)