The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and Germany’s Rocket Internet have agreed to create a joint venture to set up and develop internet businesses in the Philippines, extending their existing partnership.
The Philippine incumbent is…
The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and Germany’s Rocket Internet have agreed to create a joint venture to set up and develop internet businesses in the Philippines, extending their existing partnership.
The Philippine incumbent is paying €30m via indirect subsidiary Voyager Innovations for a 33.3% stake in the JV, Philippines Internet Group (PHIG), with an option to boost this to 50%, according to a joint company statement.
The remaining shares will be held by the Asia Pacific Internet Group (APACIG), in which Rocket has a 50% stake.
PHIG will use Rocket business models to foster the development of both online start-ups and high-growth companies already operating in the Philippines, such as Lamudi, Carmudi, Clickbus and Pricepanda. The partners intend to launch “numerous” new companies in the coming quarters.
Subject to regulatory approvals, they expect the transaction to close this quarter.
This is the second JV for PLDT and Rocket, which agreed earlier this month to co-create a mobile and online payment services business with a focus on emerging markets. The partners each have a 50% stake in this JV.
They first formed a strategic partnership last August to boost the development of mobile and online payment technologies and services in emerging markets.
At the time, PLDT agreed to pay €330m (US$442m) for a 10% stake in Rocket, which provides a platform for the development of online businesses outside the US and China. The telco now holds a 6.5% stake in Rocket, which staged a €6.5bn (US$8.2bn) IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange last October.
PLDT said the new JV marks a milestone in its strategy to invest more in businesses with digital growth opportunities and thereby develop new revenue streams.
The telco’s CEO, Napoleon Nazareno, said it is “firmly committed to paving the way for the country’s digital infrastructure”, adding that it has already built extensive internet infrastructure.
Rocket founder and CEO Oliver Samwer described the Philippines as a highly-promising market, noting that it has more than 44 million internet users among its 100 million population.
