"We're not a portfolio company that takes 5% of an enterprise, then after a period of gestation, sells out at a profit, " says Pangilinan.

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One complicating factor for First Pacific as a bidder for PAL is that Pangilinan is chairman of PLDT, the largest telecoms operator in the Philippines.

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Cojuangco initially put up a poison pill making it expensive for anyone to attempt a takeover, but according to one source, Jimenez convinced Pangilinan to up the ante for PLDT and persuaded Cojuangco that he was getting a good price for the family's shares.

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