The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) cleared the proposed merger between Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Robinsons Bank Corp.
BPI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Friday it received the approval from the commission on Sept. 13, 2023.
“The Philippine Competition Commission released to BPI the signed decision clearing the proposed merger between BPI and RBC,” BPI said.
BPI is also securing the approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It said that pursuant to the comments of the BSP, the word “substantially” was deleted under the special provisions section of the plan of merger and replaced with “approved by at least a majority of”.
The word “substantially” was also deleted under Article I of the Articles of Merger. The principal business address of BPI and the date of execution of the plan of merger and articles of merger were also updated.
Stockholders representing at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares of BPI approved at the special stockholders’ meeting on Jan. 17, 2023 the merger between BPI and RBC, with BPI as the surviving bank.
The board of directors of BPI in its meeting on Dec. 14, 2022 approved the issuance to the shareholders of RBC such number of BPI common shares as would result in the RBC shareholders collectively holding about 6 percent of the resulting outstanding common stock of BPI as of the closing date but in no case would BPI issue more than 318,912,309 common shares pursuant to the merger.
“The proposed merger will unlock various synergies across several products and service platforms, expand the customer and deposit base of both banks through the merged entity, and, at the same time, by capitalizing on BPI’s expertise and network, enhance the overall banking experience of RBC customers,” BPI said.
RBC’s products and services cater to its corporate, commercial and retail clients through its 189 branches and branch-lite units (including 14 branches and 14 branch-lite units of its subsidiary, Legazpi Savings Bank), 354 ATMs, and online and mobile banking channels.