GT Capital buys 20% stake in motor lending firm

Ty family-led conglomerate GT Capital Holdings Inc. bought a 20 percent stake in motorcycle lending firm Sumisho Motor Finance Corp. from thrift bank arm Philippine Savings Bank and its retirement fund.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, PSBank said it had sold two million shares in Sumisho to GTCapital for P189.96 million while PSBank Retirement Fund sold another two million shares for the same amount.

PSBank Retirement unloaded its entire stake while PSBank will have six million shares remaining in Sumisho.

“PSBank will benefit from this transaction as this will improve its tier1 capital ratio and the bank’s capital adequacy ratio in line with its capital planning initiatives under Basel 3,” the disclosure said.

The globally-accepted Basel 3 framework prescribes a complex package of reforms designed to improve the ability of bank capital to absorb losses, extend the coverage of financial risks and build stronger firewalls against periods of stress.

Screengrab from https://www.psbank.com.ph

For its part, Sumisho is seen to “harness GT Capital’s strength by developing synergies across various businesses within the group,” the disclosure added. “GT Capital directly owns market-dominant businesses in different sectors of the economy such as automotive assembly, dealership, financing, property development, insurance and banking.”

Sumisho is a joint venture established in 2009 by PSBank, PSBank Retirement, Sumitomo Corp. of Japan and Sumitomo Philippines. It lends or leases to retail customers for the purchase of motorcycles in the Philippines.

GT Capital’s total purchase price of P379.92 million will be paid in cash. The valuation is supported by fairness opinion made by an independent professional firm, the disclosure said.