Japanese firms, top shareholders partner for tender offer, delisting
Metro Pacific to continue managing assets, investing
Philippine brokerage firm warns of low tender offer price

MANILA, April 27 Reuters Mitsui Co Ltd and a Japan governmentbacked fund announced plans on Thursday to buy a minority stake in Philippine infrastructure firm Metro Pacific Investments Corp, as it delists from the domestic stock exchange.

Metro Pacific, a unit of Indonesian tycoon Anthoni Salim39;s First Pacific Co Ltd, has long been a target for strategic investment and privatisation owing to its cheap valuation on the Philippine bourse.

In a statement, Mitsui said it partnered with JOIN, a governmentbacked fund that supports Japanese firms39; overseas infrastructure projects, to acquire 20 of Metro Pacific valued at 477 million.

The Japanese firms and existing majority stockholders will launch an offer to buy out minority shareholders owning a combined 36.6 stake, Metro Pacific said in a disclosure, adding the company will be delisted from the bourse.

The tender offer price is 4.63 pesos 0.08 per share, an 8 premium versus Wednesday39;s closing price and a price level last reached three and a half years ago, and will cost the buyers around 873 million.

The bidders feel that the intrinsic value of Metro Pacific39;s core investments in infrastructure in the Philippines has not been fully reflected in its share price for some time, parent firm First Pacific said in a statement.

Metro…