GT Capital is raising its equity stake in Metrobank

GT Capital Holdings Inc. intends to expand its equity stake Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) for a more balanced investment income and better earnings per share.
 
The company has signed a memorandum of agreement to acquire 306,000,000 secondary shares of Metrobank held by various Ty family-owned companies for approximately P24.72 billion, GT Capital, the holding company of taipan George Ty, told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the acquisition will be executed by First Metro Securities Brokerage Corp. –the investment banking arm of Metrobank – and coursed through the PSE.
 
Once completed, the transaction increase GT Capital's stake in Metrobank by 9.622 percent to 36.092 percent from 26.47 percent.
 
“There are several advantages to GT Capital’s increased ownership in Metrobank. First of all, it enables GT Capital to benefit from a more balanced income contribution from its investments. This will also be accretive to our earnings per share,” GT Capital President Carmelo Maria Luza Bautista said.

Metrobank is the second largest universal bank in terms of assets – at P1.552 trillion –after BDO Unibank Inc. at P2.198 trillion. Third is Bank of the Philippine Islands at P1.451 trillion.

“Furthermore, the additional Metrobank shares put us on a par with our peer conglomerates with respect to the percentage ownership of our banking subsidiaries and affiliates,” Bautista noted.
 
A separate memorandum of agreement was signed covering the subscription of Grand Titan Capital Holdings Inc. to 9.5 percent or 18,296,685 primary shares in GT Capital for P21.69 billion.
 
The additional subscription gives Grand Titan a 55.93-percent ownership stake in GT Capital, and will increase GT Capital’s total issued and outstanding shares to 192,596,685 from 174,300,000. Grand Titan is the majority shareholder of GT Capital.
 
The valuation of Metrobank and GT Capital shares is based on the respective 30-day volume weighted average prices on the day the agreements were signed, according to GT Capital.
 
GT Capital also holds interests in property development, power generation, life and non-life insurance, as well as automotive assembly, importation, distribution, dealership and financing. — Ted Cordero/GMA News