(Bloomberg) -- Philippine conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is considering raising at least $500 million for its toll road business, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The company, backed by Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., is working with a financial adviser on a potential funding round that could value Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. at as much as $5 billion, said the people, asking not to be named as the process is private. The Manila-based group has started sounding out preliminary interest from prospective investors including infrastructure funds, the people said.
Deliberations are ongoing and Metro Pacific could still decide not to proceed with the offering, the people said. In response to a query from Bloomberg News, a representative for Metro Pacific confirmed the fundraising plans for its tollways unit, without elaborating any further.
The Philippine conglomerate operates 253 km (157 miles) of expressway across seven major domestic toll road systems, with more than 30 km under development, according to its latest annual report. The company also has interests in power, water, light rail, agriculture and health care, the report shows.
Metro Pacific has also started talks with San Miguel Corp. to explore combining their toll road businesses, which could lead to a group that is worth as much as $10 billion, making it the country’s biggest-ever merger, Bloomberg News reported earlier this year.
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