Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (PT&T), the former telco giant that fell on hard times but is now vying to become the country’s third major player under a new set of owners, is moving to save a rehabilitation plan implemented in 2011.
This came after creditors holding about P12.4 billion of PT&T’s debts succeeded in convincing the Court of Appeals last year to dismiss the company’s petition for rehabilitation, arguing that the plan was not viable and was thus “almost impossible to implement.” Another option, they said, was to liquidate PT&T’s assets.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, PT&T said it filed an appeal before the Supreme Court (SC) in a bid to reverse the appellate court’s decision.
The third telco initiative launched by the Duterte administration has also opened up a new opportunity for PT&T to settle the score with its creditors.
In the same disclosure, PT&T said Asset Pool A, one of the seven creditors that challenged its rehabilitation plan, had asked the SC to suspend further proceedings in PT&T’s appeal.
The creditor wanted to review the business plans of PT&T’s new owners, which included expanding the company’s fixed-internet services and possibly taking in a new foreign partner.
“With the possibility that petitioner PT&T will recover from its financial misfortunes, respondent Asset Pool is now studying whether the business plan of the new ownership and management group of PT&T will be successfully implemented to the benefit of all creditors,” Asset Pool said in its letter dated June 20, 2018.
PT&T was established in 1962 and was once considered a rival of PLDT. It took a hit during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and sought corporate rehabilitation a decade later.
The company again made news when it was acquired in August last year by businessmen Salvador Zamora II and Benjamin Bitanga, who committed to turn PT&T around and restore its status as a major telco player in the country.