BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest lender controlled by tycoon Henry Sy, is selling 40 percent in rural bank subsidiary One Network Bank to US-based TPG Growth, the growth equity investment unit of TPG.
TPG Growth announced on Monday an agreement with BDO to acquire a 40-percent stake in One Network Bank. Based in Davao, ONB has more than 100 branches and offices. Following the transaction, BDO will retain a 60-percent ownership in ONB.
“We look forward to working with TPG to accelerate ONB’s expansion and to develop new products to cover the underserved market segments,” BDO president and chief executive Nestor Tan said.
“Through this partnership, ONB will benefit from TPG’s global experience in financial services, especially in developing markets,” Tan said.
Tan said the new phase of ONB’s growth was aligned with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ efforts to improve financial inclusion in the country. BDO is the market leader in the domestic banking industry with strong brand recognition, a solid balance sheet and the country’s largest branch and ATM network.
BDO acquired the Davao-based One Network Bank in July last year in a bid to seize opportunities in Mindanao.
Ganen Sarvananthan, head of TPG Southeast Asia, said BDO and ONB built an impressive foundation. “We look forward to bringing all that we’ve learned into a collaborative partnership and expanding the impact they’ve already created,” he said.
The transaction is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approval.
TPG teamed up with more than 15 financial services companies across Asia. In 2008, TPG worked with Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional of Indonesia to open more than 550 new branches and create a micro-loan business that grew the bank’s customer base to more than 2 million group lending program clients and 250,000 micro, small and medium enterprises.
TPG has invested in a wide variety of financial services companies throughout Asia, including Indonesian financial institution BFI; Janalakshmi, India’s largest microfinance institution; Shenzhen Development Bank in China; and Union Bank of Colombo in Sri Lanka.
TPG Growth, with over $7 billion of assets under management, targets investments in a broad range of industries and geographies. TPG Growth has the deep sector knowledge, operational resources and global experience to drive value creation and help companies reach their full potential.
The firm is backed by the resources of TPG, which has $70 billion of assets under management. TPG Growth’s current and past investments include Airbnb, Apollo Towers, Cancer Treatment Services International, e.l.f. Cosmetics, NorthStar Anesthesia, Novolex, Schiff Nutrition, SuccessFactors, SurveyMonkey and Uber. TPG Growth has offices in China, India, London, Singapore, Turkey and the United States.
BDO ranked as the Philippines’ largest bank in terms of total assets, loans, deposits, capital and trust funds under management based on published statements as of March 31, 2016.
