According to PLDT’s disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the NTC had approved the joint application for regulators’ approval, filed by the formerly rival telcos, “for the sale and transfer of initially approximately 51.55 percent of the outstanding capital stock of Digitel to PLDT, pursuant to Section 20(h) of the Public Service Act.”
The disclosure listed the conditions that regulators set for approving the transaction, which PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan once described in a policy speech as a “game-changer” in the telecommunications industry, something he said was necessary to allow the sector to compete and provide what people need amid evolving challenges locally and globally.
The conditions set are: one, for Digitel to continue the vastly popular “unlimited” offerings that it pioneered in through its Sun Cellular brand, and which have been credited with making mobile service rates very competitive; and two, that PLDT will return to NTC the 10 MHZ 3G frequency of Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprises (CURE), a unit of SMART.
The share swap, valued at P69.2 billion, involves PLDT’s acquisition of a majority interest in Digitel from JG Summit Holdings Inc. and other shareholders of Digitel.
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