Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. has entered into a deal to sell its 89-percent stake in the shell company of credit card issuer Bankard Inc. to the same investor group that recently bought into nickel miner Marcventures Holdings Inc.
Trading on Bankard was halted at the Philippine Stock Exchange until 10 a.m. Monday following the disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange of this buyout, which opens the infusion of a new business into the company.
The buyer is an investor group represented by the trust unit of Philippine Business Bank. PBB served as the investment manager for the transaction.
Industry sources said the buyer was the same group that earlier bought—likewise through PBB—the single biggest voting block in Marcventures.
Bankard and RCBC separately disclosed the approval by RCBC’s board of the sale of the group’s 89 percent interest in the shell company of Bankard. Closing of the transaction is subject to certain conditions, including regulatory approvals.
As part of the conditions for the sale, all existing credit card operations of Bankard will be absorbed by RCBC, through itself or an affiliate, the disclosure said.
“RCBC expects to continue to operate the current credit card-related business of Bankard. No disruption on operations is expected from the transaction,” it said.
While the group already has Marcventures as a publicly listed mining business, industry sources said the investor group needed another listed entity to be a holding firm for other businesses. The businesses that would be infused into Bankard have yet to be identified.
In June, the same investor group bought 34.5 percent of Marcventures.
Through its subsidiary Marcventures Mining & Development Corp. (MMDC), Marcventures holds a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) covering an area of 4,799 hectares in Cantilan, Surigao del Sur.
MMDC has identified nickel ore as the primary mineral that will be extracted and sold to third parties, citing the abundance and favorable characteristics of nickel within the mineral property. Doris C. Dumlao