MANILA, Philippines — Shares in Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. sizzled on Tuesday after the company welcomed a new investor: Japan-based lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, RCBC said it sold 101.9 million common shares to Sumitomo at P44 apiece, or equivalent to approximately 4.99% stake. Investors cheered on the news, sending RCBC’s shares up 28.42% to close at P24.40 each.
The transaction is valued at P4.48 billion, which will be added to RCBC’s Core Equity Tier 1 capital. RCBC will then use the proceeds from the share sale to fund “different requirements of key customers in the Corporate, SME and Consumer segments and expand the reach of its Sustainable Finance Framework.”
Meanwhile, Sumitomo’s investment is in line with its parent company’s strategy to expand its business in Asia, RCBC said.
“As part of the Transaction and resulting partnership, RCBC and SMBC see significant opportunities for synergies and collaboration between both parties,” the company said.
“RCBC and SMBC will discuss and jointly explore materializing the collaboration post-transaction,” it added. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral