BDO to merge with subsidiary that owns Podium Mall

BDO [BDO 144.90, up 0.1%; 332% avgVol] [link] announced that its board of directors approved a merger between BDO and SM Keppel Land (SMKL), with BDO as the surviving entity. SMKL was made a subsidiary of BDO after BDO completed the buy-out of its fellow SMKL shareholders in December 2023. SMKL owns Podium Mall and West Tower, and is “organized to develop, operate, and manage its property located at ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong”. The merger will be put to BDO shareholders for approval on April 19 and will need regulatory approval from the BSP, PCC, and the SEC.

MB bottom-line: I’m not really sure what this accomplishes, since as a subsidiary of BDO, SMKL’s financials were already incorporated into BDO’s financials. Maybe it just eliminates an unnecessary layer of administrative effort by removing the need to shuffle documents around the office for signature to maintain the distinct SMKL entity. If anyone has any insight into this move, I’d love to hear it. 

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