S’pore state fund takes direct stake in BPI

GIC Private Ltd. of Singapore now has a direct stake in Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) more than three years after it acquired a stake in the country’s third largest lender.

Liontide Holdings Inc., formerly Ayala DBS Holdings Inc., transferred 46.63 million shares worth P4.56 billion last May 11 through a block sale transaction at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

The shares were sold at P100 per share, almost five percent cheaper than the closing price of BPI shares at P105.2 apiece.

With the transaction, the interest of Liontide Holdings in BPI was reduced to 20.1 percent consisting of 792 million shares from 21.26 percent composed of 837.63 million shares. This gave GIC a direct 1.2 percent stake in BPI.

Jose Teodoro Limcaoco, president of Liontide Holdings, said in a text message the shares were moved from Liontide Holdings to GIC, allowing Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund to directly own shares in BPI.

“The sale was just to allow GIC to hold some of their BPI shares directly,” Limcaoco said.

DBS Bank Ltd. of Singapore completed the divestment of its entire stake in BPI in November 2013, ending its 14-year investments in the bank. It sold its remaining 9.9 percent interest in BPI to conglomerate Ayala Corp. and GIC for P29.6 billion.

Ayala acquired the 5.6 percent interest in Ayala DBS Holdings while GIC bought the other 4.3 percent stake. The transaction raised the interest of Ayala in BPI to 48.3 percent from 44 percent.

Ayala owns 73.8 percent of Liontide Holdings, giving it an effective interest of 15.7 percent in BPI

via this vehicle while GIC owns 26.2 percent of Liontide Holdings and an effective interest in BPI of 5.6 percent.

It would be recalled Ayala purchased the 10.4 percent interest of DBS in Ayala DBS Holdings for P25.6 billion in October 2012. This raised the conglomerate’s interest in BPI to 44 percent from 33.6 percent.

Prior to the transaction two weeks ago, major shareholders of BPI as of March 31 include Ayala with 21.79 percent, Liontide Holdings with 21.26 percent, AC International Finance Ltd with 8.68 percent, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila with 8.32 percent, Michigan Holdings Inc. 2.06 percent, and Mercury Group of Companies Inc. with 0.19 percent.

GIC is one of the world’s largest global investors with well over $100 billion of assets in more than 40 countries worldwide.

BPI is the country’s third largest bank in terms of assets with P1.45 trillion as of endDecember 2016.