‘MPTC, SMC toll road units likely merging by Q3’

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June 12, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —  Tycoons Manuel V. Pangilinan and Ramon Ang aim to complete the merger of their tollway units by the third quarter, in what would be a landmark transaction in Philippine corporate history.

Pangilinan, chairman of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), told reporters that talks of a merger with San Miguel Corp. (SMC) are nearing completion.

He said negotiations are likely to conclude, with MPTC and SMC splitting their ownership in the merger anywhere between 45 and 55 percent.

Likewise, the bigger question of including international tollways is no longer in the picture, with the parties agreeing to merge only domestic projects. This is particularly sensitive for MPTC, as it co-owns tollways in Indonesia and Vietnam.

Given this, it will be up to the negotiators to figure out how the tollways would be valued in the merger. Pangilinan said these discussions would be over soon, with the merger scheduled to be signed by the third quarter.

Prior to this, MPTC hit a roadblock in its efforts to merge with SMC’s tollway arm, prioritizing the recovery of its finances as it sorts out its mounting debts.

Before 2025 ended, MPTC succeeded in its P20-billion issuance of fixed-rate bonds, proceeds of which largely funded its capital expenditures and debt payments.

Back then, MPTC president and CEO Gilbert Sta. Maria said the focus of the company is to trim debts to ensure it is healthy enough prior to merging with SMC.

Talks of a merger between MPTC and SMC started in 2023, when Pangilinan and Ang decided to combine their proposals to build a tollway spanning Batangas and Cavite. After that, there was excitement that the transaction would happen earlier than thought.

Then came the issues – from who would own the larger half of the joint venture, to what projects would be included in the merger. MPTC is the automatic bigger entity if foreign tollways would be added, as it owns a 35-percent share in the operator of the 676-kilometer Indonesian project.

Initially, there were considerations of the smaller entity paying the bigger company cash to break the deadlock, but that was dumped as well.

Locally, MPTC’s largest projects are North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, Manila-Cavite Expressway and Cavite-Laguna Expressway, while SMC’s biggest ones are South Luzon Expressway and the Skyway System.