When the government decided to offer new shares, some of them were bought by Mr Tandirect, and the rest were acquired by four special-purpose companies that were financed, it turns out, by loans from banks linked to Mr Tan.
This puts Pangilinan and Gokongwei in direct competition, should First Pacific emerge as the preferred bidder for PAL. Tan will probably try to keep both bids alive and court other suitors so that he can net a higher price for his airline.