The Philippine Competition Commission approved the acquisition of BDO Leasing and Finance Inc. by an investor group led by real estate businessmen Vittorio Lim, Victor Lim Jr. and Luis Yu Jr.
The transaction involved the proposed acquisition by the Lims and Yu of 88.84 percent of the total outstanding capital stock of BLFI from BDO Unibank Inc. and subsidiary BDO Capital & Investment Corp. under a share purchase agreement.
It said it approved the transaction after its Mergers and Acquisitions Office found that the transaction would not result in the substantial lessening of competition in their relevant markets.
Based on the commission’s market investigation, “there are no horizontal and vertical overlaps between the parties’ respective business activities, pre-and post-transaction.”
MAO found that the sale of the subsidiary was a part of BDO group’s restructuring in response to new regulations affecting lease transactions and the parties’ portfolio adjustments.
BDO Unibank is a full-service universal bank while BDO Capital is an investment house.
BDO Unibank’s operational portfolio includes corporate and consumer lending, deposit-taking, credit cards, foreign exchange, remittances, brokering, trust and investments and cash management services; while BDO Capital is engaged in the business of securities trading and underwriting, loan syndication, debt and equity placement and financial advisory.
BDO Leasing and Finance is a publicly-listed company engaged in direct leases, real estate leases, sale and leasebacks in the Philippines.
PCC is mandated under the Philippine Competition Act to review big-ticket mergers and acquisitions, including joint ventures falling within the thresholds set by the agency to protect the interest of consumers.
The commission has received 215 notifications, prohibited one anti-competitive merger and approved 197 M&As with a combined value of P3.85 trillion.
