Maybank seals ATRKimEng takeover

MANILA, Philippines—A unit of Malaysian banking giant Malayan Banking Bhd has completed the takeover of a controlling stake in local financial conglomerate ATR KimEng Financial Corp. through the purchase of shares held by Filipino partners.

Maybank-controlled Kim Eng Holdings Ltd. executed on Wednesday the buyout of all the issued common shares of ATRKE Financial which were held by ATR Holdings Inc. This represented a 32.2 percent additional equity stake in the company bought for a total of about P1.5 billion based on an adjusted purchase price of P4.38 per share, bringing the total interest held by the Maybank unit to 74.6 percent.

It was earlier disclosed that ATR Holdings and Kim Eng had entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement under which Kim Eng would acquire the former’s stake. Kim Eng previously owned 42.4 percent of the company.

Under the terms of the agreement, ATR Holdings will continue to partner with Kim Eng in the businesses of investment banking, stock brokerage, asset management, insurance and real estate. ATR’s principals, namely, Ramon Arnaiz, Manuel Tordesillas and Lorenzo Roxas, who are also the key senior management personnel of ATRKE Financial, have agreed to stay on and manage these businesses.

The company said this consolidation by Kim Eng of its ownership of ATRKE Financial was intended to maximize the benefits of the synergies that can be derived from the acquisition by Maybank IB Holdings Sdn. Bhd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Maybank, of Kim Eng earlier this year.

“We are looking forward to the synergies that this alliance will create between Maybank’s strong commercial banking franchise in the region and our successful capital markets and insurance operations in the Philippines,” said ATRKE Financial president and CEO Manuel Tordesillas.

“This will allow Maybank Philippines and ATRKE Financial to take all our businesses to the next level, with the support of our management and staff, as well as our key customers, who will benefit from our much wider range of financial products and services,” Tordesillas added.

The acquisition also signals the substantial growth in commitment by Maybank to the Philippines. It represents a further step in Maybank’s strategy of developing its Southeast Asian financial services platform and accelerating the build-up of its investment banking and equities platform in the region.

At the end of last year, Maybank infused an additional $50 million into its Philippine subsidiary, thereby strengthening the bank’s ability to capitalize on emerging business opportunities in the Philippines.

Maybank is a leading financial services provider in Malaysia offering an extensive product and service range, which includes commercial banking, investment banking, stock broking, insurance and takaful (a type of Islamic insurance grounded in Islamic banking), asset management and others, with 2010 total equity of $9.1 billion and a group asset base of more than $100 billion.