Philippine Bank of Communications equity sale goes on

Lender opted to look forward to divesting 67% of its equity even beyond March deadline.

The major shareholders of the Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom) are pursuing the sale of a 67-percent equity interest in the bank despite the deadline for them to finalize an agreement with a new investor having expired in March, it was learned on Monday.

The bank has been under increasing pressure to look for a third-party investor, with the deadline for the sale of a controlling stake in the bank having been extended several times.

PBCom president Roman Anthony Azanza Jr. declined a request for an interview by the BusinessMirror on Monday, but one of his aides quoted him as saying that “the bank is still in the process of being sold.”

In January, the state-run Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) said it had agreed to extend the deadline to March this year, with the Macquarie Group of Australia still onboard as financial adviser of the bank and its three major shareholders.

PBCom and Macquarie had sought the deadline extension, as they continued to work out a deal with potential investors, according to PDIC president Jose Nograles.

The major shareholders—the Nubla, Luy and Chung families—are required to sell a combined 67-percent equity interest in the bank under a P6.7-billion ($150 million) financial assistance agreement (FAA) they signed in 2004 with the PDIC. They were supposed to have given up control of the bank by March last year.

View the full story in Business Mirror.