The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the merger of BDO Unibank Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Podium Complex (formerly SM Keppel Land Inc.), with the bank as the surviving entity.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the bank said the merger, valued at P7.08 billion, will be effective on Dec. 1, 2024, as indicated in the Articles and Plan of Merger.

This follows BDO’s buyout of the interests of Keppel Philippines Properties Inc. and Opon-KE Properties Inc. (the Keppel Group) in SM Keppel Land in December of last year.

The merger was approved by BDO's board of directors on Jan. 27, 2024, and by its shareholders on April 19, 2024. On Oct. 18, 2024, BDO also reported the approval by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Philippine Competition Commission.

BDO will issue to itself, as shareholder of The Podium Complex, 54.23 million common shares in exchange for the assets and liabilities of The Podium Complex, and the latter's canceled stock.

The basis of the exchange is the net asset value of The Podium Complex, as of Dec. 31, 2023, pegged at P7.08 billion, and BDO's share price as of Dec. 29, 2023, at P130.50 per share.

The Podium Complex is a corporation organized to develop, operate, and manage its property located at ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City. The Podium Complex owns the Podium Mall and West Tower; the complex also houses BDO’s Corporate Center Ortigas offices.

The Sy family’s bank and the Keppel Group of Singapore developed the Podium Complex from a shopping mall that opened in 2002, before redeveloping the project into a retail and commercial hub that includes the 40-story The Podium West Tower office building.

The Podium Complex currently houses BDO’s offices in Ortigas, and BDO already occupies approximately 63 percent of the office spaces in the Podium Complex, the bank said in March 2023.

The Podium mall has a total leasable area of 50,000 square meters, while The Podium West Tower has a net leasable area of 90,000 square meters.

The Podium development, comprising an expanded Podium mall and an office tower, is envisioned to serve the growing demand for prime office spaces in Ortigas Center.

Developed in phases, phase one comprised the Podium retail mall which was opened in 2002, while the second phase of the retail mall commenced operations in 2017. Construction of The Podium West Tower started in 2015 and was completed in May 2019.

The total leasable area of the entire development is about 140,000 square meters, comprising about 50,000 square meters of retail space and about 90,000 square meters of office space.