City Savings Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Union Bank of the Philippines of the Aboitiz Group, received a go-signal from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to acquire 100 percent of the common shares of Philippine Resources Savings Bank Corp., a member of the ROPALI Group of Companies.
Union Bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Thursday that City Savings obtained the approval in a letter from the Bangko Sentral on June 20, 2018.
“Bangko Sentral approved the equity investment of City Savings in PR Savings Bank through the acquisition of 100 percent of the issued and outstanding common shares of stock in PR Savings Bank,” Union Bank said.
The letter also contained the central bank’s approval-in-principle of the merger between City Savings and PR Savings Bank, with City Savings as the surviving entity.
“The acquisition is in line with the company’s goal to expand its mass market reach consistent with its vision to promote inclusive growth in the country,” Union Bank said.
PR Savings is a member of the ROPALI Group of Companies. It is presently engaged in extending motorcycle, agri-machinery and teachers’ salary loan.
Union Bank in December last year disclosed to the stock exchange the execution of a share purchase agreement between City Savings and owners of the common shares of PR Savings Bank.
One of the conditions precedent to the closing of the transaction is the approval by the Bangko Sentral of the acquisition of the common shares of PR Savings Bank and the subsequent merger between City Savings and PR Savings Bank with City Savings as the surviving entity.
The disclosure showed that the number of shares to be acquired or disposed in the transaction involved 127,723,385 shares, or around 66.27 percent of the total outstanding shares of PR Savings. The price per share is less than 10 percent of the total book value of Union Bank.
The bank further said 90 percent of the acquisition amount would be paid upon closing of the transaction.