BDO readies P60-b stock rights offering

BDO Unibank Inc., the banking unit of conglomerate SM Investments Corp, set the terms of the planned P60-billion stock rights offering in January.

BDO said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission eligible shareholders would be entitled to subscribe to 1 new share for every 5 common shares owned as of record date tentatively set at Jan. 6, 2017.

The final offer price will be computed based on the 15-trading day volume average price of the bank’s common shares prior to pricing date set on Jan. 2, 2017, subject to a discount.

The bank’s planned rights offering is subject to regulatory approval by the corporate regulators.

BDO said it planned to offer up to 800 million common shares, which would come from the unissued common shares of the bank to raise as much as P60 billion in proceeds.

The bank currently has 850.98 million unissued common shares with a par value of P10 per share.

Meanwhile, BDO declared cash dividends amounting to P1.1 billion to its stockholders payable on Dec. 29. BDO said its board approved the dividend declaration on Dec. 3, 2016.

It said the source of dividend payment was the “surplus profits of the bank.” The dividend payment was recently approved by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

BDO maintained its status as the biggest bank in the country. In the first nine months of 2016, BDO posted a 10-percent profit increase to P19.3 billion, driven by strong loans and deposits.

The bank’s core lending, deposit-taking and fee-based businesses delivered solid results during the period, offsetting a more normalized contribution from treasury activities.