Philtrust extends offer for PBCom to end-Jan

Philtrust Bank of newspaper magnate Emilio Yap has extended its offer to acquire the remaining 41.74-percent stake in Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom) until the end of the month.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Philtrust corporate secretary Martin B. Isidro said the bank will extend its tender offer for the balance of PBCom until Jan. 31. An earlier offer started last Jan. 2 and expired on Jan. 17.

Philtrust has offered to acquire the majority stake of roughly 67-percent owned by the three major shareholders of PBCom, represented by the Luy, Nubla and Chung families.

The takeover bid was met with consent by the Nubla and Chung groups accounting for 58.26 percent of the total common shares of PBCom valued at around P2.16 billion.

The Philtrust offer, however, hit a snag when the Luy group, which owns the single biggest block in PBCom, turned down the offer.

Last Tuesday, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) said it has the option to call for a public auction for the 67-percent block in PBCom if the Philtrust takeover fails.

PDIC acting president Michael A. Osmeña also urged both banks to finalize or end the takeover bid by the end of January, noting that the continued stalemate between the majority stakeholders will be disadvantageous to the bank and the banking industry.

"We have the option to sell the 67-percent block in a public auction for transparency and equal opportunity to interested bidders," he added.

The PDIC official admitted that at this point the sale of the majority stake of PBCom "is now a matter between the shareholders and the buyers."

He said the sale could not be consumated since PBCom is required by a 2004 financial assistance package with the PDIC that a sale should involve the divestment of the majority stakeholders. The package was necessary to save the bank from liquidity problems it encountered in 2004.

The financial assistance deal, amounting to a total of P7.64 billion, stipulated that the bank’s major shareholders would have to divest their holdings on PBCom as a block, or at least 67 percent, in favor of a third party investor within five years.