GSIS declares failed bid for family bank

State-run pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) once against failed to dispose its majority stake in GSIS Family Bank.

In an advisory dated May 19 but posted on the GSIS website on Friday, investment bids and awards committee (Ibac) chair Severina L. Resurreccion said “the committee would like to declare a failure of the bidding for the sale of all GSIS shares in GSIS Family Bank under the bidding rules and procedures dated April 10, 2015.”

Danilo E. Vinoya, a member of Ibac, said in a telephone interview that the banks that earlier submitted letters of intent to participate in the bidding did not submit pre-qualification documents. He did not say how many banks submitted their respective letter of intent.

Vinoya said that under the rules, the bidding process would push through only if prospective bidders hurdle pre-qualification.

Earlier, GSIS set at P501 million the floor price of 99.55-percent of its total outstanding shares in the lender, formerly known as ComsavingsBank, 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 was a failure of bidding, a “negotiated sale” would be considered among other options that would be “subject to the approval of GSIS management and the board.”

But Vinoya said it was still too early to determine if the shares of GSIS would eventually be sold via a negotiated bid.

Also, GSIS pointed out that “if 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.”

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,” in compliance with a Makati court order issued in October 2014.