GSIS accepts P502-M bid for thrift bank stake

STATE pension fund Government Service Insurance System last Friday accepted a P502-million offer for its stake in GSIS Family Bank stake.

Phindep Development Corp. was the lone entity to submit a consent letter from the thrift bank’s third party investors, hence its financial offer was the only one opened on Friday afternoon by the GSIS’ investment bids and awards committee (Ibac) during the second round of the negotiated sale for the pension fund’s stake in the GSIS Family Bank.

According to Inquirer sources, Phindep is based in Cavite province, where the late Renato P. Dragon had served as representative to Congress. Industry sources claimed the company was incorporated only last March, with a capitalization of P1 million. Phindep nonetheless has foreign principals, sources said.

Phindep’s offer is P1 million higher than the floor price of P501 million.

All of the corporate documents submitted by Phindep will be subject to post-qualification and evaluation. The notice of award will be issued only upon the approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

A series of failed bidding in recent years prompted the GSIS to try disposing of its stake in the thrift bank through a negotiated sale.

The other party that submitted an offer on Tuesday last week, private equity company Altus Capital Partners Inc., was unable to provide the Ibac with a certification issued by the private stockholders represented by Dragon’s heirs.

Altus Capital Partners, which on its website claims to be “a Southeast Asian-based investment banking and asset management firm focused on distressed debt and special situations advisory, investment and management,” offered to buy the GSIS stake for P501 million on June 22.

However, the Ibac later announced that the documents submitted by Altus were “incomplete,” hence, “no party satisfied the requirements” during the first time that the pension fund tried to dispose of its stake in GSIS Family Bank through a negotiated sale.

The sale involved 25,150,006 common shares, 48,758 preferred “A” shares, and 1.25 million preferred “C” shares.

The negotiated sale was subject to the condition that the remaining shares of GSIS Family Bank belonging to private stockholders represented by heirs of Dragon through Patricia Angeli D. Nubla would also be sold to the same buyer through a separate negotiation and agreement.

The GSIS had offered an incentives package to potential buyers under Monetary Board Resolution No. 224. The package allows the new owner to open 20 additional branches and relocate 12 of GSIS Family Bank’s existing 22 branches anywhere in the Philippines; continue the bank’s authority to accept government deposits from the GSIS; retain GSIS Family Bank’s thrift banking license if the winning bidder is a commercial bank; merge with GSIS Family Bank if the winning third party is a thrift bank, with option to convert into a commercial bank, and convert GSIS Family Bank into a commercial bank if the winning third party investor is not a bank.