BDO Unibank Inc. (BDO), the banking arm of the Sy family, has wrapped up its Asean sustainability bond offer and successfully raised P63.3 billion, more than 12 times the original issue size of P5.0 billion.

"The issuance was backed by strong demand from retail and institutional investors, with a rapid build-up in orders resulting in the shortening of the offer period by a week to January 16, 2024," the bank told the stock exchange on Monday.

The country's largest lender said the offering was its largest single issuance, exceeding the P52.7 billion raised during its first Asean sustainability bond program in January 2022.

The 2024 peso-denominated sustainability bonds have a tenor of 1.5 years and a coupon rate of 6.025 percent.

"The net proceeds of the issuance are intended to diversify the bank's funding sources and finance/refinance eligible assets as defined in the bank's sustainable finance framework," BDO noted.

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) was the sole arranger for the transaction, with BDO and SCB as the selling agents and BDO Capital & Investment Corp. as financial advisor.

As this developed, the bank also said its board had greenlit its merger with wholly-owned subsidiary SM Keppel Land Inc. (SM Keppel), with BDO as the surviving entity, as part of the group's internal restructuring.

"The merger will be subject to stockholders' and regulatory approvals. The board likewise delegated to the president the authority to fix the final terms of the merger," BDO added.

The timetable for the deal will "depend on the timeline of the regulatory approvals," and the merger will be presented for approval during the bank's annual shareholders' meeting on April 19, 2024.

"The bank will likewise secure a confirmation of non-coverage from compulsory notification from the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) since the merger is an internal restructuring."

Last December, the bank completed the acquisition of Keppel Philippines Properties Inc. and Open-KE Properties Inc.'s combined 50-percent stake in SM Keppel.

SM Keppel develops, operates and manages the Podium Complex located in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City, in Metro Manila.

In the first nine months of last year, BDO reported a 35-percent hike in net income to P53.9 billion from P40 billion a year earlier, driven by growth across its core businesses.

The country's largest lender in terms of total assets, loans, deposits, capital and trust funds has more than 1,700 operating branches and over 4,800 automated teller machines across the country.

It also has a presence in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East through 16 offices.

On Tuesday, BDO shares edged up by one centavo to close at P144.90 amid a 0.83-percent drop in the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.