Globe signs P20-B loan with Metrobank

Globe Telecom sealed a P20-billion loan deal Monday meant to partly fund its share of the acquisition of San Miguel Corp.’s telecommunications unit, Vega Telecom, announced last May 30.

Globe said in a stock exchange filing that it signed a 12- and 15-year term loan facility with Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. Globe said this would pay for its 50-percent share of the Vega acquisition, along with half of two other companies, Bow Arken Holdings Co. and Brightshare Holdings Corp.

The entire deal was valued at P70 billion, the biggest component of which was Vega, which was valued at P69.1 billion, including about P17 billion in liabilities.

Vega, Bow Arken and Brightshare were jointly acquired by PLDT Inc. and Globe last May, with the intention of unlocking valuable but unused telecommunications frequencies controlled by SMC.

That included spectrum in the 700 megahertz band, which was good for penetrating walls and covering wide distances. To date, however, mobile handset support is limited for the 700MHz spectrum.

Nevertheless, both telcos said the additional frequencies were crucial to improve mobile internet services in the Philippines. SMC had plans to launch a rival mobile broadband service this year, but this bid weakened after talks with Australia’s Telstra Corp. Ltd. failed last March. Miguel R. Camus