Maharlika ready to make first investment in 90-120 days

Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) CEO, Rafael Consing [link], said that the MIF would likely make its first investment “in the next 90 to 120 days”. Mr. Consing said that the fund is looking to make “basic investments”, and that he’s “aiming” to start a discussion with National Grid Corp. of the Philippines [SGP 7.59, down 2.4%; 336% avgVol]. Mr. Consing said that NGCP has “gaps just in terms of what they’ve been able to achieve”, and that the MIF “can bridge that gap, both from a regulatory and from a capital perspective.” Mr. Consing also said that the MIF is looking to obtain funding from investors in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

MB bottom-line: They’ve plainly said that this isn’t some kind of nationalization effort (government takeover), and Mr. Consing’s comments do make it sound like the MIF is contemplating a transaction that would see the fund subscribe to some primary (new) shares at the ground level (NGCP, as opposed to SGP). He said that the MIF could help bridge NGCP’s “capital” gap, which is something that wouldn’t happen if the goal was just to push China out of its 40% stake by buying up its secondary shares. Who knows if MIF actually plans to be transformative, or if it just hopes to translate NGCP’s sudden regulatory troubles into a cheap entry valuation. I also seriously doubt MIF will allow its investment to be obfuscated by the multiple layers of holdings companies that PSE investors have to accept to participate in NGCP’s dividend. They’ll want to go straight to the source.  

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