MANILA, July 21 (PNA) — Telecommunications giant Globe Telecom, Inc. (Globe) on Tuesday announced it is acquiring the entire stake of Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. (Bayantel) for approximately Php1.83-billion.
“Globe has agreed to purchase from Bayan Telecommunications Holdings Corporation (BTHC) and Lopez Holdings Corporation (LHC) all the equity in the capital stock of Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. (Bayantel),” the telco said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
In the same disclosure, the telco said that the transaction involves up to 70,763,707 Bayantel shares.
It will also increase Globe’s equity interests in Bayantel from 56.87 percent to 98.57 percent of outstanding capital stock. LHC holds 717,335 shares in Bayantel.
According to Globe, this transaction follows the conversion of Bayantel US$ 423.3 debt into equity.
To recall, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) earlier this month effectively allowed Globe to take over Bayantel after the debt-to-equity conversion.
The conversion allows creditor Globe to control at least 54 percent of the outstanding shares of Bayantel, which has been placed under a court-assisted corporate rehabilitation since 2003.
Last October 2013, both Globe and Bayantel filed the joint application pursuant to a resolution that the Regional Trial Court in Pasig City has issued.
The court approved the amendment of Bayantel’s rehabilitation plan in August 2013 that authorized Globe to convert its debt holdings in the company into a controlling interest.
It then issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the planned takeover of Bayantel in October 2014, saying NTC should have first acted on objections raised by its rival telco, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT). (PNA)