IF there is an extra spring in the steps of Miguel Belmonte these days, and his brother Isaac seems in sync when strumming Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds on his acoustic guitar, it is because the Belmontes have finally succumbed to the temptation of PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan to monetize their sweat equity in The Philippine Star media empire.

There are at least two versions of the sale figure being bandied about in this gossipy industry, figures enough for each of the four Belmonte siblings to live in style without having to stain their fingers with printer?s ink ever again.

After the story of the putative sale came out yesterday, Miguel Belmonte took pains to clarify that no sale document has so far been signed yet.

And the corporate secretary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Ma. Lourdes Rausa Chan, issued a dismissive one-liner, ?PLDT denies the above-quoted report,?referring to the Manila Standard Today front-page story.

Still, the purported sale acquired velocity and truthiness when, after weeks of due-diligence conducted by the Pangilinan people, the Star staffers themselves reported to their media colleagues that the PLDT chairman had already obtained board approval for the newspaper?s acquisition.

Apparently, Pangilinan, who already owns about 8 percent of The Star, has already reached broad agreement with the Belmontes to acquire the majority shareholdings of the 23-year-old newspaper empire, including its presses, and its 50-percent stake in The Freeman, the Cebu newspaper controlled by the Gullas family.

Not included in the acquisition talks were The Philippines Yearbook, controlled by Belmonte aunt Grace Glory Go, and People Asia, the glossy magazine venture of the Belmontes with advertising and PR executive Jose Manuel ?Babe? Romualdez and telecom heir Ramon ?Choy? Cojuangco Jr.

Despite the pending majority acquisition, the Belmontes will stay on as minority shareholders and will continue to run the Star Group for three years.

As of late yesterday afternoon, the Star board was still holed up discussing the terms of the purchase offer, including how it would be structured.

Heard through the grapevine

A partners? revolt is brewing within SGV over the proposed distribution of perks and profit share by its foreign principal, Ernst & Young.

SGV founder Washington Sycip has already intervened and met with the disgruntled group, but apparently even the old man?s remaining gravitas is apparently no longer enough to placate the complaining partners.

(Web site: www.cocktales.ph; e-mail: cocktales_mst@pldtdsl.net)