THE Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) is set to close its deal to buy most with the Philippine Dealing System (PDS), which operates the trading platform for fixed-income securities.
“Hopefully, by the end of July, we can close the deal. That requires the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] to give the final approval given the time frame,” PSE President and CEO Hans Sicat said.
“What we end up with, we’ll find out in the next few weeks,” he said, referring on the number of PDS shares that it will acquire.
Previously, Sicat said they intend to buy at least two-thirds of PDS in order to effect a merger between the two trading platforms.
Sicat said the previously announced P2.25 billion is their “base offer.”
PSE shareholders over the weekend gave their go signal for the transaction.
The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), which previously owned 28.9 percent, already agreed to sell its shareholdings. The PSE in November was also able to seal the deal to buy San Miguel and Golden Astra’s respective shares.
Aside from the BAP, other owners of the PDS include Singapore Exchange Ltd., 20 percent; Tata Consultancy Services Asia, 8 percent; The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co., 4 percent; San Miguel Corp., 4 percent; Financial Executive Institute of the Philippines, 3.1 percent; Social Security System, 1.5 percent; Investment House Association of the Philippines, 1.1 percent; and Golden Astra Capital, 0.4 percent.
When the PDS, which owns the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp., was incorporated in the late 1990’s, it was viewed as a trading platform for the capital markets and is owned by the financial community.
Other PDS subsidiaries include the Philippine Depository and Trust Corp., the Philippine Securities Settlement Corp. and the PDS Academy for Market Development Corp.