GMA offers to buy PDRs of GMA Holdings owned by foreigners

Broadcast giant GMA Network Inc. is buying Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDR) issued by GMA Holdings Inc. sold to foreign nationals.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Tuesday, GMA Network said it will purchase the PDRs issued by GMA Holdings Inc. “as a measure of protection of the investments held by non-Filipinos.”

The company said that the issuance of PDRs “might be affected by the findings and recommendations of the Technical Working Group as adopted by the House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Franchises on the application for a new franchise of ABS-CBN Corp.”

GMA Network said it will buy the PDRs at P4.55 per share or lower, effective immediately and up to October 31, 2020.

PDRs are securities that grant holders the right to a company’s profits through cash dividends but these do not give them actual ownership of a corporation as well as voting rights.

GMA Network said that “after the purchase and acquisition of the PDRs in accordance with the foregoing resolution, the corporation shall convert the said PDRs into common shares.”

GMA Network has also maintained that its issuance of PDRs was done in compliance with the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PSE. —Ted Cordero/KG, GMA News