Maharlika Fund’s NGCP deal collapses nearly 2 years after Marcos’ blessing

Raffy de Guzman/Rappler

Once touted as Maharlika's maiden investment, the deal was supposed to give the government board seats at the country’s power grid operator. Instead, it marks another setback in MIC's sluggish investment rollout.

AT A GLANCE

• The Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) has withdrawn from a planned P19.7-billion investment in Synergy Grid and Development Philippines (SGP), which would have increased government influence over the power grid.
• SGP confirmed that MIC's decision was due to a change in their strategic direction and will not affect SGP's finances or the operations of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
• The canceled deal was intended to give MIC a 20% stake in SGP, allowing for greater government oversight, but comes as MIC's CEO approaches the end of his term and amid ongoing challenges for the sovereign wealth fund.

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MANILA, Philippines – The Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) has backed out of its planned P19.7-billion investment in Synergy Grid and Development Philippines (SGP), abandoning for now a deal that would have given the government a bigger say in the operations of the country’s power grid.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, October 30, SGP said MIC had informed them that it would no longer pursue the transaction for now.

“MIC has decided not to proceed with the transaction for the time being due to their current strategic direction,” SGP said, adding that the decision would have no impact on its finances or the operations of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

SGP is a listed holding company that indirectly controls 60% of NGCP’s voting shares, with an effective equity interest of 40.2%. NGCP is the private concessionaire that operates the country’s electricity transmission network, with the remaining 40% owned by China’s State Grid Corporation.

The development comes more than a year and nine months after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. personally witnessed the signing of the agreement between MIC chief executive officer Rafael Consing Jr. and SGP chairman Henry Sy Jr. at Malacañang on January 27, 2025.

Under the agreement, MIC was supposed to acquire a 20% stake in SGP through convertible preferred shares. This would entitle the sovereign wealth fund to two board seats each in SGP and NGCP, giving the government greater access to information and influence over the privately operated transmission grid.

Consing had initially expected the transaction documents to be signed within 90 days, with a possible 90-day extension. 

The canceled transaction is separate from MIC’s existing investment in SGP. MIC had already invested P1.2 billion in the listed company’s shares through stock market purchases, generating P589.2 million in dividends and unrealized gains that year.

The reported collapse of the deal comes as Consing approaches the end of his three-year term in November. No successor has been formally named.

The sovereign wealth fund, whose creation was dogged by controversy over governance safeguards, has had a slow and shaky start. By the end of 2025, Maharlika had invested just P5.9 billion of the initial P75 billion contributed by two state-owned banks.

Investments picked up in 2026, bringing cumulative capital deployment to P24.7 billion as of June, or about a third of its initial funding. However, P15 billion of that amount came from a working capital facility extended to Petron Corporation, while MIC still held P53 billion in cash and cash equivalents. – Rappler.com