Negotiated sale of GSIS stake in thrift bank set

STATE pension fund Government Service Insurance System is seeking to dispose of its majority stake in GSIS Family Bank through a negotiated sale to be held on June 22.

In a notice of invitation to participate, the GSIS said the minimum offer price remained at P501 million, or the floor price set when it tried to auction off the bank, formerly known as Comsavings Bank, last month. However, no one submitted pre-qualification documents.

The sale will involve 25,150,006 common shares, 48,758 preferred “A” shares, and 1.25 million preferred “C” shares directly and beneficially owned by the GSIS.

The exercise is “open to all interested entities,” whether bank or nonbank, GSIS said.

As in the previous bidding, the negotiated sale of the GSIS shares is subject to the condition that “the remaining shares of 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 the GSIS shares through a separate negotiation and agreement with said private stockholders.” This is in compliance with a Makati City regional trial court order issued last year.

Based on the GSIS guidelines, bids should be submitted on or before 1:30 p.m. of June 22 at the GSIS headquarters in Pasay City. The offers will be opened at 2 p.m. and the highest offer will be announced before 5 p.m. on the same day.

“If there is a tie, an open bid competition shall be conducted at a time and place determined by the bids and awards committee,” it said.

The GSIS is offering perks to potential buyers under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Monetary Board Resolution No. 224 issued in last February. The MB resolution allows the new owners to: Open 20 additional branches and relocate 12 of GSIS Family Bank’s existing 22 branches anywhere in the Philippines, including restricted areas; continue the bank’s authority to accept government deposits from the GSIS; retain GSIS Family Bank’s thrift banking license, if the winning third party investor is a commercial bank; merge with GSIS Family Bank if the winning third party investor is a thrift bank, with option to convert into a commercial bank with authorities to operate and engage in expanded foreign currency deposit units, trust and quasi-banking functions, and convert GSIS Family Bank into a commercial bank if the winning third party investor is not a bank.

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