Anchor Land Holdings, Inc.

METRO Pacific Investment Corp. (MPIC said yeasterday it has raised P14.31 billion from a secondary share offering, the country's biggest issue this year.

Metro Pacific shares tumbled as much as 35 percent and closed at P3.25, a nearly six-month low, after it said it had set a price of P3 per share for the offer, a 36.8 percent discount to its close on Thursday, the day before the pricing was set.

Net proceeds from the offering would be used to pay down debt and fund the investment firm s proposed investment in an elevated expressway system and its purchase of Manila Electric Co Meraico shares it said.

Metro Pacific Investments is buying 144.4 million common shares equivalent to nearly 13 percent of Meraico from the Beneficial Trust Fund of its sister firm PLDT It will also acquire nearly 4 million Meraico shares from company called Crogan Limited.

"The actual allocation ofthe net proceeds by MPIC will depend on various factors including the consummation of the acquisitions of cornmon shares of Meraico the company said in a statemnet to the stock exchange.

The offer of4 7 7 billion common shares were done in two phases The first phase involved Metro Pacific Holdings Inc the Philippine flagship of Hong Kong s First Pacific Co. Ltd. selling its shares in the investment firm to institutional buyers.

The holding firm then turned around and used the money it raised to buy new common shares issued by Metro Pacific Investments. The holding firm's stake in the investment firm fell to 73 4 percent after the transaction from a about 93.4 percent.

Metro Pacific has interests in water utilities tollways and hospital management Aside from itd planned investment in Meraico the company is also eyeing a venture in port operations.

The transaction pulled the Phillipine Stock Exchange index lower as the discounted transaction price P3 per share urged investors to adjust the trading price of Metro Pacific shares which in the previous week's trading closed at P4.75. Metro Pacific, the stock, declined P1.50 to P3.25.

The index dropped 4.55 points to 2,784.78 a .16 percent drop.

The broader all shares index was down 9.99 points to 1,789 58 Losers edged gainer 73 to 43 with 43 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P17.94 billion Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co PLDT was up P25 to P2,350 Anchor Land Holdings Inc. Anchor Land was up P1.30 to P8.30 Ayala Land Inc Ayala Land was steady at P10.75.

First Philippine Holdings Inc., (First Holdings) was down PI to P36 50 Ayala Corp Ayala was down P7.50 to P305 Megaworld Corp Megaworld was down P0.02 to Pl.54 Geograce Corp Geograce was up P0.06 to P0.91 Manila Electric Co Meraico was up PI to P171 Banco de Oro was down Pl toP34.