San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMGP), the power arm of San Miguel Corp., has further boosted its stake in Manila Electric Company (Meralco) by acquiring 1,034,624 additional shares from the Land Bank of the Philippines.

The deal was executed via a special block sale on the Philippine Stock Exchange on August 22, 2025, as disclosed by SMGP. 

This follows SMGP’s earlier acquisition of 43.23 million Meralco shares on July 23, 2025 at PHP 90 per share, part of a long-delayed 2008 agreement with Landbank covering 46.6 million shares. The transaction had been stalled for 17 years due to graft cases and legal disputes, but resumed after the Sandiganbayan cleared former Landbank officials in June 2024 and the Supreme Court ordered enforcement of the purchase agreement in April 2024.

The August 22 tranche, also priced at PHP 90 per share (valued at around PHP 93 million), brings SMGP’s total purchases under the revived deal to about 44.3 million shares, or roughly 3.93% of Meralco’s outstanding stock. This makes it the company’s fourth-largest shareholder.

At Meralco’s prevailing share price of around PHP 540-545, SMGP’s holdings are now valued at approximately PHP 23-24 billion.

The MVP Group, a major Meralco shareholder, has expressed interest in acquiring SMGP’s stake but has not finalized plans.

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