GT Capital jumpstarts bid to acquire Toyota unit

MANILA, Philippines - GT Capital Holdings Inc. of banking tycoon George S.K. Ty has jumpstarted its bid to acquire a majority stake in the Philippines’ top dealer of Toyota vehicles.

In a regulatory filing, GT Capital said it bought 101.875 million common shares of Toyota Manila Bay Corp. (TMBC) at P4.93 per share for a total transaction value of P502.25 million.

“The acquisition represents 40.7 percent of the Toyota vehicle dealership’s outstanding capital stock,” GT Capital said.

TMBC exclusively sells and distributes Toyota vehicles, spare parts and accessories. It also offers after-sales service such as periodic maintenance and vehicle repairs.

“GT Capital’s objective is to increase its direct ownership in TMBC to 60 percent by the first quarter of next year, inasmuch as the dealership shall significantly contribute to the high level of business synergies within the GT Capital group,” said GT Capital president Carmelo Maria Luza Bautista.

In particular, Bautista said the holding firm will take advantage of TMBC’s synergy with auto financing and non-life insurance product lines.

As of end-2012, TMBC sold the most number of Toyota vehicles in the Philippines, accounting for 10 percent of all units sold in the country.

Mitsui & Co. Ltd. of Japan and First Metro Investment Corp. own the remaining 40 percent and 19.3 percent of TMBC, respectively.

The acquisition went through an independent valuation exercise, GT Capital said, adding that it secured a third party fairness opinion in line with good corporate governance practices.

In January to September, GT Capital’s consolidated net income surged 44 percent to P7.7 billion from P5.3 billion a year ago while consolidated revenues spiked 362 percent to P77.2 billion from P16.7 billion due to better income contribution from operating units.

GT Capital is into banking (Metrobank), property (Federal Land), automotive (Toyota Motor), insurance (Philippine AXA Life Insurance, a joint venture with the global insurance giant AXA Group) and power generation (Global Business Power Corp.).

GT Capital has been consolidating some operating units. It earlier acquired a majority stake in non-life insurance firm Charter Ping An for P1.4 billion.

The investment holding firm committed to spend P35-40 billion for capital expenditures this year, up from P15 billion last year as the company aims to grow revenues and profits by double digits this year.