THE PHILIPPINE Stock Exchange (PSE) has approved Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc.’s (UnionBank) P10-billion stock rights offer (SRO), the lender said on Monday.
The PSE issued a notice of approval for the SRO on April 17, UnionBank said in a stock exchange disclosure on Monday.
The bank will list up to 450,204,078 common shares for the offering with a total transaction value of P10 billion, it said.
“The rights shares will be offered to all stockholders as of the proposed record date at an offer price per rights share representing a 15% to 25% discount based on the volume-weighted average price for 15 consecutive trading days prior to and including the relevant pricing date,” the lender added.
Proceeds from the offering will be used to infuse capital into its online banking arm UnionDigital Bank, to fund projected retail loan availments and for general corporate purposes, the bank said in an earlier filing.
UnionDigital Bank is one of the six Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas-licensed online banks in the country, along with GoTyme Bank; Tonik Digital Bank, Inc.; Maya Bank; Overseas Filipino Bank; and UNObank.
It began operating in July 2022. The bank said it achieved profitability last year, becoming one of only two digital lenders to end 2023 in the black.
UnionBank’s board of directors approved the SRO in January. On April 2, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a notice confirming that the bank’s offering is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Regulation Code.
The bank earlier proposed a price range of P33.73 to P38.23 per rights share, subject to its compliance with all applicable requirements and post-approval conditions of the PSE.
Under the indicative timetable for the offering approved by the PSE, the pricing date will be on May 2, while the ex-date is on May 8, with the record date on May 9.
The offer period will run from May 16-24, with the tentative listing date set on May 31.
UnionBank saw its attributable net income decrease by 27.78% year on year to P9.07 billion in 2023 due to one-time integration costs related to its acquisition of Citigroup, Inc.’s consumer business in the Philippines, as well as increased expenses related to the operations of UnionDigital Bank.
The bank’s P55-billion acquisition of Citi’s consumer banking arm was completed in August 2022.
UnionBank’s shares went down by 30 centavos or 0.72% to end at P41.20 apiece on Monday. — AMCS
