Lopez clan eyes Manila Electric stake sale next month

MANILA Oct 26 (Reuters) - The Lopez business clan hopes to sell half its remaining interest in Manila Electric Co (Meralco) (MER.PS) to the PLDT group (TEL.PS) next month, the Philippine family's patriarch said on Monday.

The Lopez family, which has been running the power retailer for decades, holds a 13.4 percent stake in Meralco, worth nearly $390 million. [ID:nSP460125]

"We hope next month," Oscar Lopez, chairman of the family's power holding firm First Philippine Holdings Corp, told reporters when asked when the sale would be.

Lopez added the family would hold on to a 6.7 percent stake in Meralco to wait for better prices and possibly sell out in 2-3 years. (Reporting by Karen Lema & Ian Geoghegan))