Leading Philippine telco Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) said in a statement sent to TelecomFinance that it was currently in talks with JG Summit, the owner of Digital Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel), about potentially extending the…
Leading Philippine telco Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) said in a statement sent to TelecomFinance that it was currently in talks with JG Summit, the owner of Digital Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel), about potentially extending the deadline for the completion of the deal between the two companies.
PLDT had previously said that might give up its plans to acquire a 51.55% stake in number three player Digitel if the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) failed to give its approval by 26 August.
The PhP74.1bn (US$1.7bn) deal had first been scheduled to be completed on 30 June before being moved to 30 July and later to 26 August because of antitrust concerns from the regulator and rival companies. But the NTC has yet to make a decision on the transaction.
In separate news, PLDT said its ICT unit ePLDT would acquire an additional 17% stake in mailing services provider ePDS from Quantum Solutions International (QSI), a subsidiary of Singapore Post (SingPost).
In a statement, PLDT explained that ePLDT already owns a 50% stake in ePDS, while QSI and DataPost, another unit of SingPost, respectively control 20% and 30% of the company.
Following the deal completion, scheduled for Q3 2011, QSI will cease to be a shareholder in ePDS. ePLDT will own a 67% stake and DataPost will hold the remaining 33%.
