Philtrust makes P5-B tender offer for PBCom shares

Philippine Trust Co. (Philtrust) of Filipino-Chinese tycoon Emilio Yap has made a tender offer yesterday for the purchase of up to 100 percent of Philippine Bank of Communication (PBCom).

At P30 per share offer price, the sale of the entire PBCom outstanding common and preferred shares will cost Philtrust over P5 billion.

In a letter to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Philtrust said the tender offer period started yesterday and will end on Jan. 17.

The payment for the tendered and accepted shares will be made available by the paying agent, Evergreen Stock Brokerage and Securities Inc.

Because Philtrust has already accepted the offer to buy the PBCom shares of the Nubla and the Chung families, the tender offer will involve only the remaining 41.74 percent outstanding capital stock of PBCom.

On Nov. 20 last year, the directors of Philtrust accepted the formal offer of two of the three major stockholders of PBCom and acquired 58.26 percent of the common and preferred shares for P3.02 billion. The agreement between the two families and Philtrust has left out the Luy family, the single largest owner of PBCom holding 37 percent of the shares.

The block sale of the Nubla and Chung shares will take effect after the Philippine Deposit Insurance Co. (PDIC) and other government agencies approve the deal.

PDIC acting president Michael Osmeña said Philtrust is in talks with the Luy family in order to obtain controlling interest of at least 67 percent of the bank. However, industry insiders say the family is dissatisfied with the P30 per share offer price as PBCom shares are being traded at over P60 apiece in the market when the offer was made. PBCom shares closed at P55 in yesterday’s trading.

The BSP and the PDIC screen potential investors in a bank to ensure long run stability and the buyer of PBCom must acquire enough shares for a controlling interest in the bank to get the approval of regulators

"They [Philtrust] will have to go through the prequalification process," Osmeña said.

Should Philtrust succeed in taking control of PBCom, a merger between the two medium-sized banks would create the country’s 13th biggest bank, with total assets of P115.4 billion.

Currently PBCom is ranked 19th with total assets of P60.3 billion and Philtrust, 20th with P55.1 billion.