AYALA Corp., on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, agreed to yield the majority voting rights to tycoon Enrique Razon Jr.
“As part of the shareholder agreement to be executed among Ayala Corp., Ayala’s wholly owned subsidiary Philwater Holdings Company (Philwater) and Trident Water, Ayala’s executive committee has approved the grant of proxy rights by Philwater to Trident Water over such number of preferred shares to enable the latter to achieve 51 percent voting interest in Manila Water,” Ayala Corp. said in a statement.
Trident Water is a new business unit of Razon, owner of listed International Container Terminal Services Inc., which earlier bought a 25 percent stake in Manila Water.
Ayala said Philwater owns four billion of preferred shares in Manila Water, representing 65.95 percent of voting shares in the company.
“Upon the grant of proxy rights to Trident Water, Ayala’s effective voting interest in Manila Water will stand at 31.6 percent,” the company said.
The shareholders’ agreement will become effective after the closing of the subscription agreement, which will occur after certain conditions are met, including required lenders’ consent and regulatory approvals, the company noted.
“This arrangement aims to strategically rationalize the economic and voting stakes between Ayala and Trident Water as strategic partners in Manila Water,” said Ayala. (PR)