Lucio Tan group buys 30.5% of PNB

Lucio Tan. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Tycoon Lucio Tan has started the consolidation of his banking units into holding firm LT Group Inc. with the purchase of a 30.5-percent stake in Philippine National Bank, the surviving entity in the merger with Allied Banking Corp.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, LTG said it had acquired seven companies which own a combined 22.72 percent in the merged PNB-Allied Bank entity, which the group said had “effectively set in motion the consolidation of the banks in LTG.”

These seven companies are Donfar Management Ltd., Fast Return Enterprises Ltd., Fragile Touch Investments Ltd., Mavelstone International Ltd., Uttermost Success Ltd., True Success Profits Ltd. and Key Landmark Investments Inc.

In addition, LTG said it would acquire additional indirect ownership in PNB through investments in four companies owning a combined 7.77 percent stake in the merged bank: Merit Holdings & Equities Corp., Ivory Holdings Corp., Leadway Holdings Inc. and Dunmore Development Corp.

But these four companies will still have to jack up their authorized capital stock to accommodate the investment of LTG.  The disclosure said these companies are still awaiting approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

PNB and Allied Banking have consummated their legal merger via a share swap deal effective Feb.9, with PNB as the surviving entity.