PLDT signs deal on BPO sale

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. has struck a deal to sell about 80 percent of its business process outsourcing (BPO) businesses under Spi Global Holdings Inc. to a unit of global private equity firm CVC Capital Partners.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Tuesday, PLDT said it has signed an agreement to sell the BPO businesses to CVC-controlled Asia Outsourcing Gamma Ltd.

PLDT plans to reinvest some of the proceeds from the sale into Asia Outsourcing Gamma Ltd., thus continuing to participate in the growth of the BPO businesses as a partner of CVC. PLDT will keep a 20-percent stake in Asia Outsourcing Gamma. After taking into account the 20-percent reinvestment, PLDT is expected to receive cash proceeds in excess of $300 million from the divestment.

The sale is expected to be completed by March this year. UBS acted as exclusive financial adviser to PLDT in the transaction.

“We continually review our strategy and our portfolio. The transaction announced [yesterday] represents an opportunity for us to realize attractive returns for the benefit of the PLDT group and its stakeholders. At the same time, we are very happy to be a 20-percent partner with CVC in the business going forward as we remain very confident in the long-term prospects of Spi,” PLDT chair Manuel Pangilinan said in a statement.