PSE has until 2025 to spend money it raised in 2018

Merkado Barkada

February 23, 2024 | 8:30am

The PSE [PSE 190.50, up 1.4%] [link] disclosed that its board of directors voted to approve an extension of the timeline for its disbursement of the P2.8 billion in net proceeds that it raised through a 2018 stock rights offering (SRO). Over 56% of the proceeds were supposed to have been used to acquire the PDS Group (PDS), but the SEC didn’t allow the PSE to acquire 100% of PDS until December of 2023. The PSE’s acquisition of PDS is scheduled for “2024 – 2025” under the new timeline of disbursement for the P1.58 billion earmarked for this purchase.

MB bottom-line: The PDS is the PSE of our local bond market, and this brings us one step closer to seeing the grand vision realized. Sure, it’s a little weird that the money has just been sitting there for six years, but whatever political or administrative roadblocks might have been preventing this from happening appear to have been defeated. The PSE has given itself until the end of 2025 to get this done. First, let’s see if they can do it, then let’s see what they can do with it.

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