Metro Pacific open to reviving tollway merger talks with San Miguel

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) has expressed readiness to resume merger discussions with San Miguel Corp. (SMC) regarding their tollway operations, following a temporary pause earlier this year.

MPTC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the company is keen to re-engage SMC now that both firms have reported their first-quarter financial results. “We’d like to engage them. Because everybody’s reported their first quarter results. So, now we can go back to work,” Pangilinan said. “If we’re going to do it, we might as well do it as expeditiously as possible,” he added.

Talks between the two infrastructure giants were previously put on hold due to MPTC's efforts to secure funding for debt repayment.

The potential merger stems from a memorandum of agreement signed in August 2024 between MPTC and SMC to jointly construct and operate two major toll roads south of Metro Manila — the 87.96-kilometer Cavite-Batangas Expressway and the Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway. The estimated cost of the joint project is PHP72 billion.

MPTC, the toll road unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., currently operates over 240 kilometers of toll roads and has 43 kilometers under construction. Its assets include the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX), and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) in Cebu.

Meanwhile, SMC's expressway portfolio includes the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX), South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), STAR Tollway, Skyway System, and the NAIA Expressway (NAIAX).

If revived, the proposed merger could lead to the formation of the country’s largest toll road operator, with enhanced operational efficiencies and broader regional coverage.