PSE acquiring more PDS shares

The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) is increasing its stake in the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDS) to 88.44%.

The market operator is buying 250,000 PDS common shares held by AIA Philippines Life and General Insurance Co. Inc., equivalent to a 4% stake, under a share purchase agreement.

“With this acquisition, the company will own a total of 88.44% of PDS, inclusive of the company’s existing 20.98% equity interest,” the PSE said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

“The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions such as the required corporate approvals and delivery of closing certificates,” it added.

The PSE also previously entered into a share purchase agreement with the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines Research and Development (FINEX) Foundation to acquire 96,388 common shares of PDS, equivalent to a 1.54% stake.

In December, the PSE secured a PHP 2.32 billion deal with various shareholders to acquire their stakes in PDS as part of unifying the local capital markets.

The deal consisted of 3.87 million PDS shares at PHP 600 apiece, equivalent to a 61.92% stake.

The PSE signed term sheets with the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) for its 28.83% stake, as well as with Mizuho Bank Ltd. for its 0.08% stake.

The market operator also signed share purchase agreements to acquire Singapore Exchange Ltd.’s (SGX) 20% stake, Whistler Technologies, Inc.’s (WTSI) 8% stake, San Miguel Corp.’s (SMC) 4% stake, the Investment House Association of the Philippines’ (IHAP) 0.65% stake, and Golden Astra Capital, Inc.’s 0.36% stake.

The PDS owns fixed income exchange operator Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp., as well as the equities and fixed income securities depository Philippine Depository & Trust Corp.

The PSE said the acquisition of PDS will provide investors with a facility to trade fixed income, equities, and other products in a unified marketplace.

“These signed agreements bring us a step closer to achieving our objective of consolidating the equities and fixed income exchanges and realizing the synergies and efficiencies from this unified setup,” PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon said. 

“This will also allow us to be instrumental in the growth and development of the Philippine capital market with the introduction of new products for various stakeholders as well as the implementation of risk management processes,” he added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave