BDO to buy out Keppel Group’s stake in Podium Complex

Sy-led BDO Unibank Inc. is set to buy out the stake of Singapore’s Keppel Group in SM Keppel Land Inc. (SMKL), effectively taking full control of the Podium Complex in Mandaluyong.

In a regulatory filing, BDO said its board approved the purchase of the 50% stake of Keppel Philippines Properties Inc. (KPPI) and Opon-KE Properties Inc. in SM Keppel Land Inc. (SMKL), equivalent to 50% of the outstanding stock.

The transaction is set to be made on a cash payment based on adjusted net asset value at closing. Further details on the transaction were not immediately available.

Through the acquisition, BDO will consolidate its ownership of the Podium Complex, which consists of the lender’s Corporate Center Ortigas, the West Tower, and the Podium Mall.

Data from KPPI indicates that the Podium Complex is a mixed-use development with 50,000 square meters of mall space and 90,000 square meters in the West Tower.

According to KPPI, the consideration was arrived at on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis, taking to account the agreed value of the assets and the net asset value of the sale shares.

“Following completion, SMKL will cease to be an associated company of (KPPI),” it said in a separate disclosure.

The Share Purchase Agreement for the transaction was signed by the parties last Saturday, March 25, with the completion subject to regulatory approvals of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).

BDO is the banking unit of the SM Group, offering leasing and financing, investment banking, private banking, bancassurance, insurance brokerage, and stock brokerage services.

Its subsidiaries include BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BDO Private Bank Inc., BDO Leasing and Finance Inc., BDO Finance Corp., and BDO Securities Corp.

BDO reported a P57.1-billion net income in 2022, up from the P42.8 billion the previous year. It was the biggest bank in the country in terms of assets as of September 2022, with P3.726 trillion.

Meanwhile, KPPI is primarily involved in property development through its associates and joint ventures. Its wholly-owned subsidiaries include CSRI Investment Corp. and Buena Homes Inc.

Shares in BDO closed Monday down by P0.50 or 0.39% to P126.50 apiece, and those in KPPI were down by P0.2 or 6.67% to P2.80 apiece. — BM, GMA Integrated News