Philippine pension fund eyes $617 mln Meralco stake

MANILA, May 9 (Reuters) - A Philippines state pension fund is considering buying a one third stake worth around $617 million in the country's biggest power utility, Meralco (MER.PS), the head of fund said on Friday.

Oscar Lopez, the patriarch of the business clan which owns the stake, said on Thursday he wanted to sell the stake in the Manila Electric Co (Meralco) to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

"I hope we can meet next week. I have decided to allow the weekend to pass," Winston Garcia, the head of GSIS, told Reuters on Friday.

"We need to talk to them, it's a positive offer that we are willing to look into," he said.

GSIS currently holds a fourth of the utility firm.

Lopez is chairman of First Philippine Holdings Corp (FPH.PS), which holds the Meralco stake. On Thursday he said he was "sick and tired" of the business after facing government pressure for Meralco to cut power prices.

"I have said what I wanted to say yesterday," Lopez said in a statement on Friday. "If government thinks they can do a better job in Meralco, they can go ahead and buy us out. I am not interested in meeting with Mr. Garcia at this point because there is nothing more to talk about."

Garcia has called for a management revamp in the utility to compel Meralco to lower rates, adding the company was mismanaged for a long time.

First Holdings 33.4 percent stake in Meralco is worth about 26 billion pesos ($617 million) at current prices.

GSIS raised its stake in Meralco to 25 percent this year from around 8 percent last year, after selling its holdings in Southeast Asian food and drinks group San Miguel Corp (SMCB.PS).

Shares of Meralco climbed 5.19 percent on Friday. The stock had fallen 16.7 percent in the previous four days after the government stepped up its campaign to press the company to lower rates. The main share index .PSI gained 0.68 percent.

($1 = 42.48 pesos) (Reporting by Rosemarie Francisco; Editing by Lincoln Feast)