THE AUTOMOTIVE unit of GT Capital Holdings, Inc. has received regulatory approval from the competition watchdog for its proposed acquisition of Toyota Santa Rosa, Laguna, Inc.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday, GT Capital said its wholly owned subsidiary GT Capital Auto Dealership Holdings, Inc. (GTCAD) received the go-ahead from the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to buy Toyota Santa Rosa from Toyota Motor Philippines Corp.

GTCAD and Toyota Corolla Sapporo Philippines Holdings, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Corolla Sapporo Corp., Ltd. (Japan), are proposing to buy 100% of the Laguna-based Toyota unit.

“Following the transaction, [Toyota Santa Rosa] shall be 60% owned by GTCAD and 40% owned by [Toyota Corolla Sapporo],” GT Capital said in the disclosure.

Toyota Motor Philippines, from which GTCAD and Toyota Corolla Sapporo are buying Toyota Santa Rosa, is 51%-owned by GT Capital.

The Toyota Group’s subsidiaries as of end-2019 are Toyota Makati, Inc.; Toyota Motor Philippines Logistics, Inc.; Lexus Manila, Inc.; Toyota San Fernando Pampanga, Inc.; and Toyota Santa Rosa.

The GTCAD Group, on the other hand, has two subsidiaries: GT Mobility Ventures, Inc. and Toyota Subic, Inc.

In the first six months of 2020, the Toyota Group booked a 77% income decline to P994.4 million, as automotive operations declined during the coronavirus-related lockdown due to 50% lower sales of assembled and imported auto vehicles and spare parts.

The GT Capital Group posted an attributable net income of P2.74 billion, down 62% from a year ago, as its gross revenues were nearly halved to P52.62 billion.

Aside from automotive, GT Capital’s businesses include banking, real estate, infrastructure, and insurance.

Shares in GT Capital at the stock exchange closed at P387.20 apiece on Monday, up 20 centavos or 0.05% from the last session. — Denise A. Valdez

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