RCBC sets P10-B share offer

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) will embark on a domestic and international roadshow to sell up to 250 million new common shares and raise about P10 billion in fresh capital.

RCBC said the offer price has yet to be fixed by March 15. The bank’s stocks closed yesterday at P41.50 each, up 6.4 percent from Wednesday’s close of P39.

"The offer price will be based on the volume weighted average price of the share at the PSE for a period ranging from 10 to 30 days ending on March 15 this year, subject to a discount of up to 10 percent," Elbert M. Zosa, RCBC senior vice president, said in a report.

The public offering will consist of 173.9 million common shares, or 80 percent of total offer, for sale to international investors.

Another 43.5 million common stocks, representing 20 percent of the offer shares, will be offered and sold to the PSE trading participants. In case of huge demand, RCBC has set aside 32.6 million common shares as over-allotment option.

The international roadshow and bookbuilding for the offer will be held from March 5 to 15 while the domestic offer will start on March 19 and end on March 23.

The PSE has suspended trading in RCBC stocks from March 16 to 28.

RCBC officials said that the new shares will form part of the capital build-up program to meet all international standards in terms of capital and risk weighting under the Basel II capital framework.

The Yuchengco-led commercial bank in the last quarter of 2006 issued $100 million in hybrid Tier 1 shares, and the issued P1 billion worth of perpetual but non-cumulative preferred shares.

It also sold P5 billion worth of non-performing assets (NPAs) through the special purpose vehicle (SPV) route and private auctions.

Spinnaker Capital, a US-based financial institution that specializes in investments in emerging markets globally, has acquired the 17.14-percent stake in RCBC held by the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. (BTMU), a unit of Japan’s largest financial company.