P501-M price set for GSIS Family Bank

State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has set at P501 million the floor price for its majority stake in GSIS Family Bank.

The minimum bid price was lower than the thrift bank’s end-2014 valuation of P520 million to P670 million, which was earlier disclosed by GSIS president and general manager Robert G. Vergara.

Last April, GSIS announced that it had scheduled on May 25 the sale of 99.55 percent of its total outstanding shares in the lender formerly known as Comsavings Bank, of which 99.36 percent are common shares and 0.19 percent are preferred “A” shares.

Supplemental Bid Bulletin No.1 dated May 5, which was released by GSIS to clarify issues on the sale of its shares in the bank, noted that in case there would be a failure of bidding, “[n]egotiated sale is an option,” even as “there are other options which the IBAC (Investment bids and awards committee) may consider, subject to the approval of GSIS management and the board.”

In the event that only one bidder would be pre-qualified by the Dragon family, a minority shareholder, GSIS pointed out that “[i]f the certification issued by the heirs of Renato P. Dragon for the private minority stockholders’ shares contains only one potential buyer … the IBAC shall no longer proceed with the opening of bids because it is considered as a failed bidding.”

To recall, the sale of the pension fund’s shares in the lender will be “subject to the condition that the remaining shares of the GSIS Family Bank belonging to private stockholders represented by heirs of Renato P. Dragon through Patricia Angeli D. Nubla, shall likewise be sold to the same buyer of GSIS shares through a separate negotiation and agreement with said private stockholders,” in compliance with a Makati court order issued in October last year.

GSIS, however, said that it would not assist the winning buyer during its negotiation with the Dragon family.

“The prospective bidders should negotiate and agree with the private stockholders before the bid date to be included in the certification issued by the heirs of Renato P. Dragon as to potential buyers for the private minority stockholders’ shares,” GSIS said.