Philweb sells shares in Germany-based firm

Technology provider Philweb Corp. has sold its 32.5-percent stake in Germany-based hospitality technology firm Acentic GmbH, to another German company, Niantic Holding GmbH.

The cash proceeds of P140 million will be used by Philweb to cover overhead costs while awaiting the processing of its application to service Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s (Pagcor) network of e-Games cafes, the company told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

Philweb said it had sold the investment in Acentic to Niantic Holdings GmbH for $750,000.  The company said it had collected 1.973 British pounds from Acentic in full settlement of a loan.

The buyer, Niantic Holding, is a specialty finance company also based in Germany.

Acentic has been working with hoteliers for in-room entertainment and communication around the world for more than 30 years. Its Wi-Fi & network solution, Radiant 4, has been designed, engineered and built from the ground up. Panorama NG, Acentic’s leading edge in-room entertainment solution, allows users to take control of content stored on their devices and view them through the in-room TV screen which also offers a suite of conference management tools.

Earlier, Pagcor said it was trying to speed up the processing of Philweb’s application for renewal of service agreement for a network of e-Games cafes but added that any new deal must conform with the procurement law. Preferably, any new contract must be awarded through a public bidding, Pagcor chair and chief executive officer Andrea Domingo said in a letter to Philweb dated Dec. 12.

The service agreement with Pagcor on e-Games cafes has been Philweb’s bread and butter for years. Philweb’s intellectual property license agreement (IPLMA) with Pagcor expired on Aug. 10 last year and has not been renewed since then.  The agreement covers a network of internet cafes dedicated to casino games most of which operated on a 24/7 basis. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA