First Gen strikes back, defends rich deals

First Gen strikes back, defends rich deals | Daily Tribune

“First Gen, as a publicly listed company, observes with fidelity the rights of all stockholders to equal access to material information by avoiding its premature and selective disclosure, as mandated by law. This holds true for the transactions which all the members of First Gen’s Board of Directors, including chairperson and CEO Federico R. Lopez and director Manuel L. Lopez, unanimously approved,” the company said.

The dispute stems partly from First Gen’s transactions, including the P50-billion sale last November and a planned P75-billion investment in hydroelectric power assets.

First Gen said both transactions underwent full board review and were unanimously approved, including by directors representing different family factions.“First Gen would like to emphasize that it enters into contracts and agreements only after conducting transparent and rigorous evaluations, and only upon thorough review and approval by its Board of Directors,” the company added.

71% faction

The statement comes in response to allegations made on 31 March by three Lopez family factions, which collectively hold a 71 percent majority stake in the parent firm, Lopez Inc.

The group claimed that “billions of pesos” worth of transactions were carried out without prior board approval, adding that some directors only learned of the transactions through media reports.

The same factions also asserted that Federico “Piki” Lopez had been removed as president and chief executive of Lopez Inc. “for cause and for loss of trust and confidence,” following disagreements with former ABS-CBN chairman Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III and allied family members, particularly over financial support for ABS-CBN Corp.

Piki Lopez has challenged his removal in court, reportedly securing a writ of preliminary injunction from the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court on 26 March, blocking his ouster. The majority factions claimed the legal move was filed “in retaliation for refusing to authorize a P2 billion capital infusion into ABS-CBN Corp.,” which has faced financial challenges since losing its franchise in 2020.

Reports have also linked the proceeds from First Gen’s P125-billion transactions with Prime Infra to potential funding for ABS-CBN.

Gabby Lopez had reportedly pushed to allocate P2 billion of the proceeds to the media company, but the proposal was rejected by Piki Lopez, who cited concerns over its long-term profitability.

Despite the dispute, First Gen reaffirmed its support for the younger Lopez’s leadership, highlighting the company’s “consistent and growing profitability,” which reached a record P15.2 billion last year, bringing cumulative earnings to about $2 billion over the past five years.

“First Gen expects its partnership with the Prime Infra Group to help sustain its growth, while reaffirming a declaration made 10 years ago by the Lopez Group to avoid coal investments and pursue First Gen’s transition into a 100-percent renewable energy company in the future.”