BPI Capital
For the second year in a row, BPI Capital, the investment banking arm of Bank of the Philippine Islands, wins plaudits. Easily the most powerful onshore investment bank, it took first place in equity capital markets in the 12 months to the end of May, completing five deals worth $460 million and more than 20% of the market, according to Dealogic.
In M&A too, BPI Capital – which offers a full suite of services, from corporate banking and trade finance to commercial lending and cash management – showed its mettle, beating all of its domestic peers.
In February, it was sole manager, bookrunner and underwriter on electronics manufacturing services provider Integrated Micro-Electronics’ P5 billion ($94 million) rights offer, and Robinsons Land Corporation’s $394 million stock rights offer. The latter was a challenging deal, with a tight execution period squeezed in over the 2017 Christmas holidays, in order to secure regulatory approval in early January.
BPI Capital also advised AC Education, a division of Ayala Corporation, on its successful bid in February for 96% of the voting shares of National Teachers College, a Manila-based firm specialising in teacher education. The investment bank took a proactive position on that deal, conducting due diligence on the target, building a financial model, and advising the buyer on its bid strategy.
“Our aim is to help our corporate clients grow financially across all markets,” says Cezar Consing, chief executive of BPI Capital’s parent, the Bank of the Philippines Islands. “And key to that is to understand what they want, and putting the full resources of the bank to work on their behalf.”