SM buys dormitel chain “MyTown”

The country’s leading conglomerate SM Investments Corp. has completed its acquisition of a 61.2 percent stake in Philippines Urban Living Solutions Inc. (PULS), the company that operates a growing chain of dormitory buildings under the “MyTown” brand.

The deal recently obtained approval from the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), country’s anti-trust body, which is mandated under the Philippine Competition Act to review mergers and acquisitions to ensure that these deals will not prejudice the interest of the consumers. The PCC is mandated to review deals valued at P1 billion or above.

“The acquisition allows SMIC to capture growth opportunities in the dormitel segment,” SMIC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.

The total acquisition price was less than 10 percent of its net book value, SMIC added.

PULS, an investee company of Franklin Templeton Investments and BPI Capital Corp., currently owns and manages five buildings in Makati and BGC with over 1,000 beds all operated under the “MyTown” brand. The company specializes in building 10- to 20-square meter residential units rented out near Metro Manila central business districts.

The Mergers and Acquisitions Office of the PCC found that the transaction would not result in substantial lessening of competition in the relevant market. After the acquisition, sufficient competitive constraints on the merged firm remains from other market participants, the PCC had said.