PSE in a race to thwart Landbank’s PDS bid

Facing a rival pitch from the Land Bank of the Philippines to take over Philippine Dealing Systems Holdings Corp. (PDS Group), the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) vowed to comply with the legal requirement to put a 20-percent cap on stock brokers’ ownership.

“The company has in place several layers of control in the system that will monitor the level of ownership and restrict purchases to maintain the ownership level at 20 percent,” PSE said in a disclosure on Monday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently granted a preeffective clearance with respect to the registration and listing of PSE’s stock rights offering equivalent to 11.5 million common shares. This will, in effect, dilute brokers’ shares in PSE.

PSE said it was determined to complete all phases of its compliance plan. It is set to launch next month the stock rights offering, which will also be used to raise P3.16 billion to fund the union of the capital market infrastructure.

The rights offering will not be open to the brokers to achieve the PSE’s goal of diluting the combined ownership of trading participants. This is in compliance with the provision in the Securities Regulation Law capping single-industry ownership of any operating exchange in the country at 20 percent.

The 11.5 million new common shares will only be sold to eligible investors at an offer price of as much as P275 per share.

“Thus, the company is hopeful that it will obtain the exemptive relief from the SEC soon, which will then pave the way for the finalization of the acquisition of additional shares in PDS Holdings Corporation,” the local bourse said.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez is increasingly becoming impatient with the PSE’s noncompliance. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA