菲律宾Metrobank也有意收购 Philamlife

The Metrobank Group has expressed interest in acquiring Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philamlife) and its local subsidiaries.

Philamlife, a subsidiary of the ailing US-based American International Group (AIG), is being offered for sale to help its parent company pay an $80-billion bailout package from the US government.

"Strategically, Philamlife's businesses fit the operations of the respective companies in our Group," Metrobank Group vice chairman Antonio S. Abacan Jr. said. "They are very strong and well-managed corporations, and a successful acquisition of these companies would accelerate the growth of the Metrobank Group in these areas."

Metrobank announced its interest in Philamlife a day after Government Service Insurance System president and general manager Winston Garcia announced his own interest in at least 49 percent of the local insurance giant.

Earlier, Philamlife said nearly 10 local and foreign groups - including the Yuchengco family, Henry Sy's SM Group, and the Ayala Group - had expressed interest in acquiring the company.

Aside from Philamlife, Metrobank also wants Philam Asset Management Inc. (PAMI), the fund manager subsidiary of Philamlife. PAMI manages the largest number of mutual funds in the country, with assets under management worth P21.91 billion in 2007.

In its bid for the Philamlife Group, Metrobank will tap its partner AXA of France, one of the largest financial institutions in the world.

The partnership resulted in the creation in 1997 of Philippine AXA Life, now the second leading life insurance company in the country with a market share of 22 percent.

The Metrobank Group also owns Philippine Charter Insurance Corp., a non-life insurance firm.

Metrobank thrift bank subsidiary, the Philippine Savings Bank or PSBank, the second largest thrift bank in the country, is expected to benefit from the acquisition of AIG Philam Savings Bank, while Metrobank Card Corp. (MCC) can expect a more robust business if it gets AIG Philam's card enterprise.

PSBank's acquisition of Philam Savings Bank may enable it to catch up or even surpass BPI Family Savings Bank, currently the country's top thrift bank.

MCC is a joint venture between Metrobank and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Corp. (ANZ Bank). "Metrobank's local franchise and ANZ Bank's specialist credit card expertise have made MCC one of the fastest-growing credit card companies in the Philippines today," Abacan said.

Metrobank also said that its acquisition of Philamlife would transform its fund management firm FMIC Asset Management Inc. or FAMI into the country's largest.

Philamlife has a net worth of P49.5 billion as of Dec. 31 2007, and over P170 billion in assets. Aside from its life and non-life insurance operations, thrift bank, and credit card business, it also has a pre-need subsidiary, Philam Plans Inc.

AIG and the US Federal Reserve have tapped JP Morgan and the Blackstone Group to handle the sale of AIG's assets, including Philamlife. - Ted Torres (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)