Dennis Uy acquires 45.13% of ISM

Davao-based Dennis Uy has gained control of 45.13 percent of holding firm ISM Communications Corp. by finalizing a deal to buy new common shares worth P1.28 billion.

ISM’s executive committee has approved Uy’s purchase of all of the company’s 883.73 million unissued common shares at P1.45 per share.

A quarter of the deal price is payable upon subscription and the balance of 75 percent will be settled before the end of this year, ISM told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The acquisition will be made through Dennison Holdings Corp., a company beneficially owned and controlled by Uy. With its limited asset portfolio, ISM is expected to be a future backdoor-listing vehicle for other businesses, but “not for telco,” an industry source said.

Uy is among the local businessmen who are interested to bid for the third telecommunication player slot to be offered by the government to force existing players to improve the quality of telco services in the country.

ISM was originally a mining company incorporated in 1925 under the name Itogon-Suyoc Mines. In the early 2000s, it was transformed into an information technology and multimedia telecommunications company. In 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the amendment of ISM’s articles of incorporation to reflect its primary purpose as a holding company.