By Eileen A. Mencias

Major stockholders of Philippine Bank of Communications have picked the Macquarie Group as financial adviser to the sale of a majority block in the bank, PBCom insiders told the Standard Today.

The PBCom board held a meeting Wednesday night to discuss the terms of the engagement of Macquarie. PBCom and Macquarie were scheduled to sign an agreement yesterday.

The sale aims to invite a strategic investor who will help build a stronger PBCom, the insiders said.

They said the board also engaged the services of Punongbayan and Araullo as independent auditor that will determine the book value of the PBCom?s shares.

Sources said the major stockholders of the bank?the Chung, Luy and Nubla families?had found the Macquarie group acceptable as financial adviser.

Macquarie bested a short list of prospective financial advisers, the insiders added.

They said the Chung and Nubla families did not favor ING NV because it was handling the merger of Philippine National Bank and Allied Banking Corp., two banks owned by taipan Lucio Tan. Morgan Stanley, which was also in the short list, did not submit a proposal.

The Macquarie group, which is listed in Australia, is a global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investments and funds management services.

The Chung and the Nubla families have been at odds with the Luys after the two blocs attempted to sell their shares in the bank to Manila Bulletin publisher Emilio Yap.

The Chung and the Nubla families combined have a bigger stake in the bank than the Luys. But the Luy family controls the single biggest block in the bank and has close family ties with Tan.

The two taipans, Tan and Yap, meanwhile, have also been at odds with each other over businesses, schools, banks, and airport terminal.

The insiders are optimistic on the engagement of Macquarie in the PBCom sale because of its experience in such delicate transactions. Macquarie handled the successful sale of Thailand?s Military Bank to strategic investors that helped strengthen it.

Under the financial assistance agreement that PBCom signed with Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. several years back, the three families have until March 25 to sell their combined 67-percent stake in the bank to a strategic investor.

Macquarie will advise PBCom on the mode of disposal of the shares and prepare the information memorandum on the bank as well as the prospectus to be presented to potential investors.

PBCom shares were last traded in the stock exchange on Jan. 22 when it closed at P28 per share. The bank has a market capitalization of P1.47 billion.