PLDT issues P4B in stock to Digitel shareholders

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has issued P4 billion-worth of new shares as payment for recently acquired stock in Digitel Telecommunications Philippines Inc. held by minority investors.

PLDT in a disclosure said this marked the completion of its tender offer for shares in Digitel, operator of mobile brand Sun Cellular.

“We disclose the issuance today of a total of 1.606 million PLDT common shares,” the company told the local bourse Friday.

These new shares were issued at the previously agreed price of P2,500 each, for a total of P4.015 billion. Investors that receive the shares automatically book a gain of 9.6 percent on the net value of their holdings given PLDT’s closing share price on Friday of P2,740 each. This was up 3.31 percent from the previous trading session.

“The aforementioned shares were issued for settlement of the purchase price of 2.517 billion common shares in Digitel tendered by Digitel minority stockholders under the tender offer conducted by PLDT,” the company said.

PLDT said the new shares were for investors that chose PLDT stock as payment for Digitel shares they tendered.

The new shares further increases the market liquidity of PLDT, already the country’s most traded issue.

PLDT’s tender offer for Digitel shares ended last week. In a previous disclosure, PLDT said an overwhelming majority of shares tendered – 87 percent – would be paid in PLDT common stock.

Investors holding the remaining 13 percent – or P600 million worth of shares –chose to be paid in cash.

PLDT undertook a tender offer to Digitel minority shareholders following its acquisition of a 51.55 percent of Digitel from the Gokongwei family’s JG Summit Holdings Inc.

Following the tender offer, PLDT earlier this week announced its intention to delist all Digitel shares from the local market. Only 2 percent of Digitel shares are still in the hands of minority investors while the remaining are now with PLDT.

PLDT management had said that keeping Digitel listed would offer no tangible benefits for the group since the parent firm itself was already on the market.