PSE acquires bond exchange

The Philippine Stock Exchange is set to gain near full-control of PDS Holdings Corp. as part of a broader goal to unify the country’s equity and fixed-income platforms.

The PSE said in a stock exchange filing Thursday that an agreement was reached with the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) to acquire the latter’s 1.81 million shares, or 28.91 percent, of PDS Holdings.

The PSE said it would pay the BAP, which represents some of the biggest banks in the country, P650.55 million, valuing 100 percent of PDS Holdings at P2.25 billion.

The PSE said the closing of the transaction would depend on certain conditions but it added that the deal was expected to be done by Nov. 27 this year.

One condition mentioned was the grant by the Securities and Exchange Commission of “exemptive relief to own more than 20 percent of an exchange.”

PSE president Hans Sicat said in a text message on Thursday that the PSE would control at least 94 percent of PDS once the transaction has been finalized.

“We’re working with all shareholders right now,” Sicat said. “The immediate benefits include the creation of a larger exchange with broader product offerings and services [ and to be] more aligned with how other global exchanges are structured.”

The PSE’s board approved a formal offer to buy out other shareholders of PDS Holdings in August last year. Last May, the bourse secured a P1.15-billion loan in line with the present transaction.

“This transaction is envisioned to facilitate further growth in the local capital markets by introducing efficiencies in the trading and back office systems of both the equities and fixed income markets, among others,” the PSE said in its filing yesterday.