THE Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) ) is anticipating a formal offer from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) this week to buy out the remaining Philippine Dealing System Corp. (PDS) shares that the bourse does not yet own.
“I think we're expecting a formal offer from [the] PSE… the board will take it up and study [it]. We don't know how much or anything [else],” BAP President Jose Teodoro Limcaoco told reporters late on Friday.
Pricing should not be a “stumbling block,” he added.
“We have an internal valuation, as I'm sure they have also [one prepared]. And I'm sure they'll be far apart. But I'm sure we can come to an agreement and the price is not an issue,” Limcaoco said.
The PSE earlier announced plans to fully acquire the PDS.
The PSE board approved extending the timeline for using the remaining proceeds from a 2018 stock rights offering, which raised P2.9 billion.
It allocated P1.58 billion, or 55 percent, of the net proceeds for the PDS acquisition.
The PSE, which holds 20.98 percent of PDS's capital stock, allocated the same amount in 2018 for future corporate debt servicing through bridge financing for the deal.
Last December, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the PSE's application for exemption from a Securities Regulation Code rule that limits an organization's ownership and voting rights in an exchange to 20 percent.
The SEC previously denied the PSE's bid due to ownership restrictions and concerns about its business plans, but in November allowed the bourse to apply for exemptive relief.
The transfer of the exchange operator's shares was also approved in December, enabling the PSE to buy out PDS shares held by other shareholders.
Following these approvals, the PSE was required to report every two months on the status of its negotiations to acquire additional PDS shares, including the share offer price, and to submit operational and developmental plans and timelines for the fixed-income exchange.
The PDS Group includes Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp., which operates the organized secondary market for trading fixed-income securities issued by corporations and the government.
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