Gaming firm buys another Internet chain

The country’s only listed gaming videogame publisher IP E-Games Ventures Inc. has acquired another Internet café company in line with its strategy to reach out to more registered users across the country.

In a disclosure, the company on Friday said it had signed a deal to acquire 75 percent of I.T. Log Park Inc., which owns 32 Internet café branches in the Philippines.

“The parties have signed an agreement, and target completion of the sale and purchase … within the next 60 days,” the company said. “The parties placed in escrow today the majority stock and the indicative purchase prices in anticipation of the closing of the acquisition.”

IP E-Games declined to give any more details about the deal.

Earlier this year, IP E-Games, a subsidiary of listed tech firm IPVG Corp., conducted a stock rights offering, which gave the company P134.2 million in fresh capital to be used for “strategic” acquisitions.

Its first investment in the Internet café sector was the acquisition of Digital Paradise Inc., operator of the Netopia chain of Internet cafés, from Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.

With 75 company-owned and 36 franchised branches, Netopia is the largest Internet café chain in the country.

The Netopia acquisition also gave IP E-Games an advantage over its chief rival Level-Up Games, also owned by PLDT.

IP E-Games said that the Netopia chain alone would give the company an additional P300 million in yearly revenue.