Philippine holding firm Baguio Gold Holdings said on Thursday it would acquire six companies jointly holding 81.57 percent of its sister firm Philippine Airlines (PAL), the country's flag carrier.

Baguio Gold, owned by the group of Filipino-Chinese tycoon Lucio Tan, said in a disclosure to the stock exchange that its board of directors approved the planned acquisition of six "single-asset companies, their asset consisting solely of shareholdings" in PAL.

The six companies are owned by Tan and his group.

Baguio Gold did not disclose the value of the deal. But with PAL's paid-up capital of about PHP10.8 billion pesos (USD$210.5 million), the transaction would involve about PHP8.8 billion (USD$171.5 million).

The airline, Asia's first, had a net profit of USD$28.7 million in its 2005-2006 fiscal year ending March, up 63 percent from a year earlier.

"This is a shareholder transaction so there is no effect on PAL," Jaime Bautista, PAL president said.

The Philippine government holds about a 4 percent stake in PAL while the rest is owned by private investor groups and employees.

Baguio Gold, formerly known as Baguio Gold Mining Co, was originally engaged in mineral exploration but shifted its main business to a holding firm in 1996.

The firm had been on the look-out for possible acquisitions since 1998 but has not made any major investments prior to the PAL deal.