The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) announced that AIA Philippines Life and General Insurance Company Inc. has agreed to sell its four percent stake in Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corporation (PDHSC).
In a disclosure, the PSE said AIA is selling its 250,000 PDHSC shares for P150 million, or P600 per share. This price matches the selling price of other shareholders, based on a P3.75 billion enterprise value.
With AIA's shares, the PSE is now acquiring a total of 4.22 million PSHDC shares worth P2.53 billion. This equates to a 67.47 percent stake, raising the PSE's total interest in the company to 88.44 percent.
AIA's decision follows a similar move by the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines Research and Development Foundation (FINEX Foundation) to sell its stake to the PSE.
The PSE entered into a share purchase agreement with the FINEX Foundation on Dec. 27, 2024, for the acquisition of 96,388 common shares of PDSHC, representing a 1.54 percent interest.
This agreement follows others signed with PDS shareholders on Dec. 26, 2024, to purchase 3.87 million PDSHC shares for P2.32 billion. The transaction cost was based on the P3.75 billion enterprise value of PDSHC, or P600 per share.
Among the agreements signed was a term sheet with the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) for its shares and those owned by BAP Data Exchange Inc. and certain member banks. These represent 28.83 percent of PDS. A term sheet was also signed with Mizuho Bank Ltd. for its 0.08 percent stake.
The PSE also signed share purchase agreements with five other PDS shareholders: Singapore Exchange Limited (20 percent stake); Whistler Technologies, Inc. (eight percent); San Miguel Corporation (four percent); Investment House Association of the Philippines (0.65 percent); and Golden Astra Capital, Inc. (0.36 percent).
"These signed agreements bring us a step closer to achieving our objective of consolidating the equities and fixed income exchanges and realizing the synergies and efficiencies from this unified setup," said PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon.
He added that "this will allow us to be instrumental in the growth and development of the Philippine capital market with the introduction of new products for various stakeholders and the implementation of risk management processes."
PDSHC is the holding company that owns the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corporation, the operator of the fixed income exchange. It also owns the Philippine Depository & Trust Corp., the depository for equities and fixed income securities.