CIMB Withdraws Offer To Acquire Philippine Bank

Vanessa Doctor

27 June 2013

CIMB Group, the Malaysian financial services giant, has withdrawn its offer to acquire the Philippines' Bank of Commerce.

In a statement on Bursa Malaysia, the Malaysian central bank, CIMB said that the sale and purchase agreements for the proposed MYR961 million (approximately $300 million) offer for a 59.8 per cent stake in Bank of Commerce had lapsed without any final decisions made.

The stake is owned by San Miguel Properties and San Miguel Corp Retirement Plan, both of which are subsidiaries of San Miguel Corporation. The SPA with the two firms expired on 9 December 2012, while the one with minority shareholders lapsed in 9 February 2013. News of the planned takeover was first announced in May 2012.

Various news reports over the past months reveal that while both parties had reached an agreement for CIMB to acquire a controlling stake, Bank of Commerce's IT infrastructure and property holdings issues were unresolved. San Miguel had wanted to let go of the bank as it is not part of its core business strategy.

"The parties to the SPAs have been engaged in negotiations since the lapse of the SPAs, but have not been able to reach an agreement on new terms in relation to the proposed acquisition. As such, the parties will not proceed with the proposed acquisition," said CIMB in its latest statement.

San Miguel remains the owner of Bank of Commerce.