Medical City not in talks with MPIC
The Medical City (TMC) said there are currently no talks with infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) for the acquisition of a stake in the hospital.
In a statement issued over the weekend, TMC said there are no discussions as the hospital is not for sale.
“Although TMC is definitely not for sale, we appreciate that several investors, local and foreign, are interested in TMC. It shows that the hard work of our medical and nonmedical staff, under the leadership of our chief executive officer, Dr. Eugenio F. Ramos, is being recognized the world over,” TMC corporate communication manager Mitzi Duque-Ruiz said.
She said as a matter of policy, the management is not involved in shareholder matters as it is focused on delivering care for patients.
Last week, MPIC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the group is interested in acquiring hospitals including TMC, which could be an interesting addition to the group’s hospital portfolio.
TMC’s main facility located on a 1.5 hectare property along Ortigas Avenue in Pasig City, has a capacity of up to 800 beds, as well as 280 doctors’ clinics and select commercial spaces.
Pangilinan said MPIC, through Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc., would wait until the battle over control of TMC has been resolved.
The group of chairman Jose Xavier Gonzales and his uncle Alfredo Bengzon, who previously served as TMC president and chief executive and was a former secretary of the Department of Health, are at odds over control of the hospital.
“We’re just bystanders. It’s a very interesting situation. We haven’t gotten down to (details). We don’t want to get into the middle of this. We are friendly to both (camps),” Pangilinan said.
Bengzon said earlier, Gonzales and Singaporebased Clermont Group acquired shares of the hospital, but failed to disclose the memorandum of agreement (MOA) executed in 2013, to other shareholders.
Under the MOA, Gonzales and Clermont were claimed to be majority shareholders of TMC with a combined stake of 54 percent.
Bengzon has turned to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to question the legality of the acquisitions based on the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), which seeks to protect investors through full and fair disclosures of share trans- actions and by eliminating fraudulent and manipulative practices.
Under the SRC, a mandatory tender offer is required when there is intent to acquire at least 35 percent of a company, and then before 50 percent is acquired.
The SEC found Gonzales and his partners had violated the SRC, but the group is contesting the findings.
Gonzales said he is hopeful cases before the SEC and the courts would be settled soon.
“The shareholder records are clear: Dr. Bengzon owns a mere 0.11 percent of TMC shares, and yet he believes that the majority of the shareholders, including doctor-shareholders and institutional funds, should follow his wishes. At its simplest, that is what the cases before the courts are all about. Corporate governance dictates that the will of the majority shareholders must be respected over the whims of a minority shareholder,” he said.
He said the interests of stakeholders would be realized if more members of the public get to enjoy the benefits of owning TMC shares.
“Our continuing focus on compliance with global standards of corporate governance will ensure that TMC shareholders will realize and reap the rewards of share ownership,” he said.